Forever Starts Tonight
by Torqueo Animadverto
Summary: Ten teenagers are left home alone. They have options. One, be bored for the entire weekend. Two, throw an unforgettable house party. Let me tell you, my friends, unforgettable it will be.
1. Chapter 1

_One night they are all together. Inspiration hits their leader._

"Oh my God, you guys I just realized something we can do on Saturday when our parents are out of town."

"What?"

"Two words, house party.

_The event is kept quiet._

"Remember, a-list only. No one else can find out."

"Don't worry. You've drilled it into our heads hmm I don't know what would you say girls?"

"I'd say a million times."

_Secrets are kept._

"Who was that text from Claire?"

"It was no one Derrick."

_Break up's _

She ran from the room. She ran from the house. She ran from everything. She ran with tears running down her "naturally" made up cheeks. Why? Because she saw him _with_ her.

_Make ups_

"Look Massie. I'm sorry. I just want everything to go back to the way it was."

"I do too Hotz. I do too."

_Most importantly drama. _

"What do you mean where is she?" Massie said crinkling her freshly waxed eyebrows. "She was over at the punch bowl a few seconds ago."

"Well Massie she isn't over there anymore is she?"

"Dude, calm down." Josh said getting up from the couch.

"How can I josh? My girlfriend is _freakin' missing."_

**Forever**. _Starts. _Tonight.


	2. Food and Gossip

**Aloha everyone. Sorry it took me forever. Music is very important in this story so I will randomly put what I listened to when writing. Hope you like the first chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Glares at computer screen **

_**Listening: My mom yelling at me to pay attention to her. **_

"Hey Derrick." Claire welcomed her boyfriend of almost three years into her spacious bedroom. A lot had changed since seventh grade to spring of senior year. Instead of the Friday night sleepover being at Massie's house, it rotated, and since all of the girls had boyfriends their guys came along also. Nothing ever happened -nothing that the rest of them knew of- the guys were there to make it more fun. And they could dish out some pretty cruel dares.

"Hey, love." Derrick said in a faint British accent. Another thing that had changed. After eighth grade Derrick's family had to move to England for his fathers job. They had planned on staying there until after high school was over, but the company wanted him to move back to the States after two years. After they moved back Claire and him got together, and now she has his yummy voice, looks, and body all to herself. Derrick could switch to an American accent, but he only used it when he was extremely serious or nervous.

Derrick set his duffel bag on the edge of her king- sized bed, picked Claire up, and set her on her mahogany desk, and proceeded to kiss her slowly, yet passionately. Just as he licked her bottom lip, begging for entrance into her mint- scented mouth, Massie and her boyfriend of a year, Josh Hotz strolled into her room. Seeing Claire and Derrick in this position- still making out- they looked at each other, back at the occupied couple, and screamed "STD!", as loud as they could, at the same time. Derrick let out a sigh, then a groan, and Claire blushed a light pink at being caught.

Hey, at least it wasn't her mom _and_ dad. Again.

"Come in guys!" Claire scowled at them. Massie shrugged and handed Josh her purple- what other color- suitcase. He sighed, grabbed the suitcase and his duffel bag, and her bag, and walked over to Claire's bed. He then dropped the bags next to Derrick's duffel. Derrick had sat down in Claire's swivel chair with her snuggled on his lap. Josh walked over to her white leather chaise with Massie snuggled at his side.

"When are Dylan and Chris going to be here?" Claire said, referring to their other friends, Dylan and her boyfriend of six months, Chris Plovert.

"She texted me on our way over. She said about ten minutes."

"What about Kristen, and Alicia?" Claire questioned.

"Kristen, about fifteen, and Alicia's bringing the pizza, so about twenty." They always had a huge food buffet. It was mainly for the guys, but Claire, Dylan, and Kristen could eat like guys sometimes too.

"Massie, did you tell Kristen to pick up egg rolls?"

"Yup. She's picking them up from Red Palace, and Dylan's got the dessert." Claire's Tiffany- box colored eyes lit up when she heard this. Dylan picking the dessert was like sleeping in until two P.M. after staying up all night, and not getting any sleep for two days. Bliss. Two weeks ago it was chocolate coconut crème cake. Last week is was giant fudge brownies. Who knew what it would be this week. Hopefully it would be something with chocolate. Claire walked over to her speakers and plugged in her ipod. Another thing that had changed. Claire's life now revolved around music, and her taste changed too. That was one of the things that made her and Derrick so close. They both liked Alternative, and Indie music.

"Derrick pick a song." They always did this. Whenever there was a comfortable silence in the room they would pick a song that they knew everyone else in the room hated. Derrick stood up with an evil grin on his face. He whispered in her ear so Massie wouldn't hear.

"_NYC is Like a Graveyard_."

"I was hoping you would choose that one." The Moldy Peaches suddenly could be heard from her speakers.

_New York City's Like a Graveyard_

"_NOOOOO_! " Massie shrieked loudly once she figured out what the song was.

"How can you listen to this crap?" Massie questioned incredulously. Claire and Derrick's eyes widened suddenly they glared at her. Claire walked over and paused the music. Oh no.

_**Switchfoot: Stars**_

"This is _not_ crap." Claire said very seriously. "The Moldy Peaches are different, unusual, and brilliant." Do you see what I mean? Claire continued to glare at her, and Josh wrapped an arm around Massie protectively, as if Claire would attack her. Maybe she would. Thankfully Dylan and Chris plowed into the room as if the hallway was infested in cockroaches. Oh, wait. It was. Todd was out there probably looking for food. Shocker.

"Come on Dylan! Just a bite!" Todd maybe fifteen now, but he was still the same immature kid we all know and love.

"No you little rodent! You buy them, you eat them! If not, you're not getting any of these!" Massie and Claire burst out laughing when they saw Chris's expression. His pale cheeks were bright red, and his hair was windblown. He looked like he had just run from a monster, or had a really good sex. With Dylan and Chris, you never really knew. Dylan had the ability to enter herself into every kind of situation possible. Yes, even a monster, and their relationship was about as physical as Emmett and Rosalie's from _Twilight_.

"God, Claire. I thought you were training him to be better than that!" Claire giggled a squirrelly giggle. It was the same noise she made when she knew she really shouldn't be laughing, but she really couldn't help it.

"Alright everyone. I have… what you've all been waiting for… two… bite… brownies." Dylan said dramatically ripping the Ukrpos bag off of the container. Everyone's eyes lit up.

"Oh, guys, I forgot to tell you. My mom bought me a mini fridge for my room!" Claire said excitedly.

"Yes! Now your brother will stop stealing all of our food." Josh exclaimed.

"Don't forget her dad." Derrick grumbled. He still held a grudge against Jay Lyons for eating his pineapple ice cream that he had to ordered all the way from South Carolina because they didn't sell it in Westchester.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Yup. I'll put the brownies in it."

The door then opened and in walked a muscular blonde girl carrying a sports bag, and a red paper bag that had a delicious scent curling in the air, and tempting everyone. A boy with black hair and blue, and green eyes walked right at her heels. Then he shut the door quickly.

" I _do not_ want Todd, or your dad, Claire to smell those egg rolls and Spring rolls. They like Chinese food more than the actual Chinese people." Cam Fisher grouched. Kristen Gregory- his girlfriend of a year yesterday- rolled her celery green eyes.

"What were you saying Claire? Something about putting a thing in something?"

Josh snorted. "That's what she said." Kristen blushed when she realized what she, and Josh said. Last sleepover at Alicia's house they watched the five seasons of the Office. It quickly became their favorite television show.

_**Avril Lavigne: Nobody's Home**_

Claire chuckled. "I was saying that I just got a mini fridge and we can put the food in there."

Kristen's eyes lit up. "Good, because I bought Dr. Pepper and Pepsi."

"Kris we didn't ask you to bring that." Massie said. She was working on her people skills.

"I know, but Cam was thirsty and I wanted Dr. Pepper." She said simply while walking over to Claire's bed and dropping her bag on it.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Claire walked over to Kristen and Cam, gave them both hugs and took the food. She brought it over to the corner of her silver- walled room where a small black fridge was. She opened the door and put the food in. When she turned around, her cell phone started playing "Cable Car" by The Fray. Then the song started again. She had two texts.

_I never knew_

_I never knew that everything was falling through_

_That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue_

_To turn and run when all I needed was the truth_

_I never knew_

_I never knew that everything was falling through_

_That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue_

_To turn and run when all I needed was the truth_

She pulled her phone out of the charger. Flipped the screen up, and her eyes moved across the screen quickly.

"Alicia says they're here." Her fingers moved across the keypad, deleting the message, and clicking on the other one. She bit her lower lip, and her palms became sweaty. This didn't get by Derrick as she hoped it would.

"Who was that from, Claire?" Derrick questioned, suspiciously. Claire shrugged the question off.

"Just my mom. She was wondering if we were eating dinner with everyone else." Her fingers quickly mover across the keypad, again, though it seemed at a faster pace.

_**Listening: My health teacher rambling on, and on about calories.**_

Lately, this had been happening a lot. When everyone was having a good time, Claire would get a text message and Claire wouldn't tell anyone what it said. Not even Derrick. He would see what her reaction was and get protective, and suspicious. No, not that she was cheating on him. Her reaction wasn't one of guilt, or glee. It was worry. Fear. And, Derrick trusted her way more than that. The relationship that lacked the foundation of trust was Massie's, and Josh's. Josh was the all around nice guy and Massie was, well, Massie. She climbed the social, academia, and sports ladder, and didn't care who she stepped on in the process. Since Massie would hardly talk to anyone who wasn't in her social circle to find out the truth, when Josh would help a girl pick up her books, or be the partner for the looser girl in class, Massie would automatically think he was cheating on her. You would think that after six months of exclusive dating she would trust him, but no.

Derrick was about to say something else when the door opened and the scent of Grace's pizza could be smelt. Then Alicia walked thorough the door. Grace's Place was a new pizza parlor in town that cost an arm and a leg to buy from, but had the best pizza. They bought the lot Slice of Heaven was in when it went out of business in Westchester, making the Hastings's move to New York City. At least Griffin would fit in with the other homosexuals.

_**Lifehouse: Whatever It Takes (I told you Danyelle!)**_

"Hey Guys." The raven haired beauty said, completely empty handed. Her new Manolo Blahnik's were clacking on the floor so loudly they were threatening to put holes in the hardwood. The no longer completely perverted Kemp Hurley was almost behind her struggling with two pizza boxes, Alicia's wheeled suitcases, and his Nike duffel bag. Claire snorted when she saw the sight and went back to Derrick. The boxes were resting on the palm or his right hand, waiter style. His duffel strap was hanging on his shoulder and with the same arm, he was dragging Alicia's suitcase up the carpeted stairs. He huffed his was into the room and said,

"Thanks for the help, Leesh." She looked up from her spot on the electric blue comforter with an apologetic look on her tanned face.

"Oh, shit. Sorry Kemp. Anyways, Massie, I have gossip worth fifty points." This got all of the girls interested, and even the guys. They had all been informed on what gossip points were, and every last one of them thought it was stupid. Even Derrick who was the most whipped. They all knew, though, that fifty points had to be big. Really big.

"Spill Alicia." Massie demanded leaning forward in the chaise.

"Okay," Alicia said with a glint in her eye. She lived for this. "I heard my parents on a conference call with everyone else's parents saying that they need a break from Westchester so they're going to Boston, not tomorrow, but next Saturday." She paused to take a breath, and Massie thought she was done.

"Well, Alicia, that's great for you, but why do our parents need to know about this? And how does this benefit us?" Massie snapped.

"Would you would let me finish? Get this,_ all_ of our parents agreed. They're all going. Kemp's, Claire's, Derrick's, Kristen's, Cam's, Josh's, yours, Dylan's, and Chris's." She finished with an excited look in her brown eyes.

"So this means," Dylan started.

"They're leaving us home." Derrick added.

"Alone." Claire continued.

"For the weekend," Josh said dumbfounded.

"With _no_ adult supervision." Massie finished.

For a second in time you could almost hear all ten hearts beat, filled with anticipation, hope, and a million other things. But, there was one feeling that outshone them all. Ecstasy.


	3. Greatest Nights

**Woah, two updates in one month. I've just started a record. For those of you who love Clairngton this chapter has some fluff in it. Thank Baliz for that. Happy B-day. **

**Disclaimer: Whatever.**

_**Paramore: Fences**_

After pigging out on all the food, playing two rounds of truth or dare- which included me making a trip to the liquor cabinet- we were finally tired enough to go to bed. Thank God, it was one A.M. The girls and I changed in my walk in closet. We were close to the guys, but not that close. The guys changed in my bedroom. We were close to them, but not _that_ close. Chris got the eight sleeping bags off my shelf. They were the really old, lime green ones that I had used on Florida when I visited my friends with Derrick. We all camped out on the beach, next to the fire, and out under the stars. That was one of the greatest nights of my life. The second was when Derrick said he loved me for the first time.

*~~*~~*

_**Paramore: My Heart**_

"_Massie, thank God! I need your help." I exclaimed as the ethereally brunette walked into my room. Derrick and I were going on a date tonight, and call it a girl's intuition, but I thought something big was going to happen tonight. Really big. _

_Massie rolled her eyes at me, and sat down in my new leather chaise that I had gotten that week. _

"_If you have sex, use protection." She said simply. As if we were talking about the weather. _

_I crinkled my eyebrows, incredulously, then pointed toward my closet. "Wardrobe help. Not that kind." I said blushing. It had been a week since that had actually happened for the first time. One word for it? Indescribable. _

"_Oh. Now that I can help with." Her eyes gleamed like she had found buried treasure. Or had seen Edward Cullen. I'd choose Edward any day. _**For Yanni11209**._ She walked over to my closet and walked to the "Fancy Evening Attire" side. When my dad got rich from starting up his own company I had let Massie, and Alicia loose in the Westchester mall buying things for my resized closet. _

_Worst. Mistake. Ever. I didn't even know what I owned anymore._

_The clanging of wooden hangers being pushed together snapped my attention back to the present situation. Massie had pulled out my favorite fancy dress. It was a silk, deep purple, halter. The front dropped down to just below my knees, while the back ended at my ankles. There was a square crystal in the middle of the chest area. Massie set the dress over the chair in front of the mirror, and went over to my shoe shelves. I fingered the soft fabric thinking of how that dress was from my first date with Derrick. Again, when I snapped back to reality I saw Massie standing in front of me, holding a pair of black Gladiator heels from Ralph Lauren. She moved the dress over to an empty shelf and set the shoes on the plush, white carpet. Then, she patted the vanity chair, and plugged in the curling iron. While we were waiting for the iron to heat up she applied a light coat of pink blush, knowing that I wouldn't need a lot. She also put on my lips, and a thin line of black eyeliner on my eyelids. On top of the eyeliner she put a plum shade, almost the same shade of the dress. After she was done with my make up the curling iron beeped, telling us that it was done, and ready to do its job. Massie took the curling iron, twisted my hair, and then turned it vertically, so it would make corkscrew curls just like Derrick loved. A few minutes later she announced that she was finished. Right in time too, for the doorbell had rang. She quickly helped me put on the dress, so as not to ruin my make up, or hair. She then handed me a black pearl bracelet, and a black clutch. With a soft half- smile she said "Have a good time." _

_Massie was a life saver. _

_**Greenday: American Idiot**_

_I clacked my way down the recently carpeted stairs, almost tripping. I quickly arrived- in one piece, thank you very much- to find my dad interrogating Derrick for the sixth time that month. _

"_Dad," I told him gently, "Nothing has changed since the last time. I'll be home by eleven. Call my cell if you need me." I said just before shutting the door. Derrick smiled softly, and as we stepped off of the porch he wrapped me up in a bone crushing hug. That was one of the things I loved most about him. He was always so affectionate. His kisses sent shivers of joy down my spine, and his hugs were always so fresh. So nice and warm. It was like hugging a giant, fluffy teddy bear after a run through the dryer. After I was released from the hug, I looked him up and down, taking in his apparel. This was the first time I noticed what he was wearing. A nice crisp Armani suit, with a deep purple handkerchief in the breast pocket. I looked in his eyes next, trying desperately not to get to lost in them. I did want to form coherent sentences. _

"_Hello." He said gazing back into my blue eyes. _

_I smiled. "Hi, how did you know I would be wearing this?" I smiled as he helped me into his new car. A brand new Silver Volvo. He shut my door quietly. Once I had gotten buckled he was in the car getting buckled, and putting the key into the ignition. When we pulled out of the driveway, he replied, _

"_I had a feeling. I mean it is our sixth month anniversary. He said in a voice that made me melt every time I heard it. Every damned time. Yeah, I was in that deep. _

"_That it is." I said sighing contently, then taking his hand and lacing his fingers between mine. Six months of pure bliss, and perfection. I mean yeah, Derrick and I had our arguments, but we hadn't broken up yet, which was always a plus. We drove for about ten minutes, then pulled up to a small picnic area with one picnic table and a CD player on the picnic table. Derrick parked the car, got out, opened the trunk and pulled a sand colored, whicker picnic basket, and came over to my side, and always being the gentleman, helped me out. He put the picnic basket on the ground and we stood there for a few seconds, savoring the moment. His hands were on my hips, mine on his shoulders. He started staring into my eyes, and I got lost in his. They were so brown. It was like holding up a Hershey kiss to your face. The way I saw it, they looked into his soul. _

_**Playradioplay!: I am a Pirate, you are a Princess**_

"_You look beautiful tonight. You are beautiful." He whispered taking his hand in mine, picking up the picnic basket. We started walking and I was careful not to get my heels stuck in the damp grass. We stopped a few feet away form the picnic table, and he spread a big blanket out over the grass. It was white with black vines. I looked at him with a completely loving look on my face. Apparently I was taking to long to sit down, because he lightly pulled on my wrist, and I sat on the ground. When we got comfortable- me sitting between his legs- he opened the picnic basket, got out three grilled cheese, ham, and tomato sandwiches- my favorite- and a Tupperware container with chocolate chip brownies, and peanut butter cookies. Then he got out two wine glassed and a bottle of Chateau- Mouton Rothschild from 1997. _

"_What's the special occasion D?" I questioned, suspiciously. Normally he didn't steal wine from his parent cabinet. _

"_I have no idea what you're talking about." He whispered, his lips at my ear. It sent shivers both, up and down my spine. Just like Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, he dazzled me. _

"_And no, we are not like those book characters." _

_Oh, and he could read minds. _

_I rolled my eyes and grabbed my sandwich, hungrily. I bit into it quickly, and fought the urge for my eyes to roll to the back of my head. It may just be sandwiches, but Derrick was good at everything. Especially cooking. _

"_Are they good?" He questioned. I rolled my eyes for the second time. _

"_Do you have to ask that? You know how much I love your cooking." I snapped. He was taking me away from precious sandwich eating time. He smirked a little, then turned the CD player on. When he reached for the remote a light breeze caught his hair, and it was brushed lightly back by the wind. I loved running my fingers through his hair. At school, it would make some girls blow steam through their ears, so I did it there more than other places. Hey, I had a right to mark my territory. I for sure wasn't going to be like a dog, and pee on him, and the little hickeys and bite marks up his neck, and across his collar bone didn't help any. No, the peeing thing wouldn't bring me any closer to hearing those three words I had been dying to hear for about a month. I think you know what they are. The old, "I love you." Guys can say it so many different ways, but it still means the same thing. That they want to be there for you. That they felt an attraction that was stronger than like, or lust, or a friendship._

_Love, was love. Plain and simple. _

_**Paramore: CrushCrushCrush**_

_As I was returning to reality I heard My Heart, by Paramore playing. Not the traditional couple song, but who cares. When Derrick finished up his two sandwiches, he opened the Tupperware container, and the wine. He poured both of us some, and after taking a few sips he just started staring at me. Not in a freaky, Oh my God, he's going to kill me way. The way he was looking at me was the way an architect would look at something from the Ancient Babylonians. Or, the way a blind man would look a the sun for the first time. The way a cancer patient would feel after seeing their hair begin to grow in. Complete and utter happiness, amazement, and awe. _

"_What?" I asked after taking another sip of my wine. This stuff was tasty. Derrick sighed,_

"_Claire, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while, and just tell me if I'm moving to fast, but," His English accent grew heavier, and so did the beating of my heart. _

"_You have bewitched me, body and soul, and…" He paused. My heart swelled ten sizes, and started beating erratically. Almost like it was preparing to take off for flight. But, I wanted it to stay right here, for I knew what he would say next. This was my favorite part in Pride and Prejudice. When Mr. Darcy told Elizabeth Bennett that he loved her. _

_Oh. My. God. _

_He turned me around so he could look me in the eye. He then placed his thumb under my chin lifting my face to his, and resting his lips on mine, he said it. __**It. **_

"_I love you." _

_**Listening: The silence of a neighbor's house**_

*~~*~~*

The love of my life's voice pulled my back to the present.

"Claire, love, are you going to sit on the edge of your bed all night, or are you actually going to get into bed? You've been sitting there with a goofy expression on your face for five minutes." He said with a slight smirk on his face. He was already under my silver and blue comforter. I slid underneath the covers, and he immediately wrapped his toned arms around me. His nose nuzzled my hair, and I rested my left arm on his waist. We fit together perfectly. Like pieces of an a thousand piece puzzle you've been working on for months. All seemed right in the world. Seemed being the main word. It's amazing what can seem to be fine. Everything can _seem_ to be right in a three year olds life, and then her parents are arrested for child abuse. Everything can _seem_ to be right in a teenage boy's life, but his dad's an alcoholic, and he hits his mom. Everything can _seem_ right in a persons world, but their fiancé cheated on them, so they give up on love. I think you get the picture.

_**Shiny Toy Guns: Le Disko**_

What seemed to be right in my world? I was second for academics in my school. I was on the soccer team. An elite member of the most popular group in school. I was completely, and irrevocably in love with my boyfriend- who was currently placing butterfly kisses up my neck, and across my collarbone- and he was in love with me.

But what people couldn't see was that I was getting texts. Threatening me friends, family, and most importantly Derrick. It had been happening ever since the return of the creepiest kid in school, Ethan Bates. Two weeks ago Ethan had come back from a mental health institute, and the way it seemed was that they didn't help him at all. If anything he was worse. He wasn't scared of me telling. He said who he was with the second text message. I could definitely prove that he wasn't better. Because, he had a target. Me. So, even as Derrick laid next to me running his nose up, and down my cheekbones, and stealing frequent kisses- as everybody else slept peacefully- trying, without even knowing to make me forget my problems, I couldn't fight the feeling of dread, and insecurity. Those texts were still looming over my head.

_I'm always watching Claire._

_Always. _


	4. Sweet Dreams

Ha, a oneshot, and a chapter in one month. Now that, my friends, is what you call a record.

Disclaimer: Gosh darn it! (Mom's in the room) I just realized I own a bag of chips, a notebook, and a computer chair. Did you see The Clique anywhere on that list?

_**Does it offend you, yeah: Attack of the 60 foot lesbian octopus**_

It was around eight A.M. when the sun started streaming through Claire' s curtains. It was around nine A.M. when Kemp started moving around. I could tell he was trying not wake anyone, and didn't know that I was awake. I had always been a light sleeper.

He quietly slipped out of his sleeping bag, and crawled on his hands and knees over to his bag at the foot of Claire's bed. He quickly zipped open the side pocket, and took out his LG Dare. He slid the screen up, and half- smirked, half- grimaced. He quickly texted something back, and closed the phone screen. He was half way to crawling back, when Claire muttered something in her sleep.

My attention went to the goddess laying besides me. I just loved to look at her. To drink it all in, that the last three years hadn't been a sick, sick joke, or a dream. I loved this woman so freaking much. How she would blush when something sensual came up in the movies, or on the telly. Or, if I would compliment her, which was often.

I loved that she was so giving, yet so competitive. She almost once didn't talk to Massie for two days, because she beat her in Airhockey. I loved her laugh. It sounded like the tinkling of bells, or wind chimes swaying in the morning breeze. So pure, and innocent. Most importantly, I loved her, because she loved me.

My mother would always tell me that I would never make a good husband, and no girl would ever love me. Then I would remind her that dad loved me, and she would slap me. But, I always thought that I deserved that slap. It was my fault that the love of her life, my father was dead.

When we moved back to the States, he was murdered. Before we moved back to Westchester, we lived in New York City. It was the second week of school, and I had gotten into a fight with some of the guys there. They were being pigs, and tried to grope a girl's chest. I had a broken knuckle, and a black eye. I was walking home from school, because I just wanted to be alone. Apparently, some of the guys thought it would be funny to start a fire in the logs of wood we had for the fireplace, behind the house. They thought I was home and wanted to scare me.

My dad went outside to put it out, and it got out of control. By the time I had gotten to the house it was to late. The fire department had already gotten there, and the only thing I could see was my mom sobbing. Mercilessly. That, and a big black spot on the grass. A few days later we had his funeral, and moved.

My mom put me up for adoption a few months later, and then she moved. Last I heard she was in Boca Raton. I guess she couldn't bare to see a face that resembled his so directly. I looked so much like my dad it was scary. We both had the same blonde hair, and brown eyes, Our facial structure was the same. Sharp cheekbones, pronounced foreheads. He had more wrinkles and laugh lines. He also had silver glasses that Chris wore in seventh grade. I missed him so much. My dad, not Chris.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my adoptive parents. Janet and Darrel were amazing. They just couldn't replace my real parents. Jay and Judi were second after Janet and Darrel. They took me in as a second son a little bit after Claire and I started dating. I mean sure there were the "I'll kill you, then resurrect you as a cat, then torture you so badly that you won't want those extra eight lives" looks, and speeches. I'd be worried if there weren't. But, I think they realized that I was here as long as Claire wanted me, they softened up. There were still the occasional "I'll kill you" glances from Jay if we go too touchy- feely around them. I tried not to, but sometimes it was so difficult. Why? Because I love her.

_**Paramore: Brighter**_

When I snapped back to reality, I noticed that Claire had shifted in my arms, and the others were starting to wake up. Claire was looking at me with her big, so blue they were almost turquoise, eyes. I bent my head down to her forehead, and whispered "Good morning love." When I went to give her a quick kiss on the lips, she pursed them so there was a thin line where her lips were supposed to be.

"Some of us are actually imperfect, and have morning breath." She whispered.

"And some of us just don't care." I whispered back to her, after stealing a peck after she was done talking. She rolled her eyes and shifted out of my arms so she could stretch, and look around to see who was up.

Massie was trying to wake up Josh. Good luck, I thought. If you played a tuba in the same room as him, he would still be fast asleep. After a few seconds of waiting, she started hitting him with one of Claire's The Juliana Theory CD's.

He mumbled, then turned over. "Five more minutes Mass. I'm begging you."

"No Josh. I had an awesome dream that I want to tell everyone about." She said. This got me curious.

"Well, I had a really good dream too ya know." He said slightly pouting, with his eyes still closed.

"Josh, no one wants to hear about your sex dream." Massie said rolling her eyes.

I then turned my attention to Cam and Kristen. Some time during the night he had gotten into her sleeping bag. Her dirty blonde hair was splayed out on the pillow behind her, and her head was resting on Cam's chest. In seventh grade, Cam was always the romantic one, so this public display of affection didn't surprise me. They were both awake, just staring at each other. You could tell that he almost loved Kristen as much as I loved Claire.

Almost.

As their gazes grew more intense, I felt more and more like I was interrupting a private moment. Like I was trespassing. So, I turned my attention to Dylan and Chris.

Dylan was still asleep with her mouth wide open attracting flies. Her fire- engine red curls were splayed out on the pillow beneath her and Chris was trying to wake her up gently.

Again, I thought Good luck.

The Juliana Theory: Liability

Just when he probably thought all hope was lost, Claire looked over and saw the situation. She got out of the bed, walked over to Dylan's sleeping bag, crouched down next to her ear, and shouted in her ear,

"Dylan, pizza's here!"

Upon hearing this, Dylan jolted up in her sleeping bag, and exclaimed "What, where?" This also effectively got Cam and Kristen out of their "moment", and managed to wake Alicia from her light sleep.

"God Claire, you didn't have to yell so loud." Cam complained. Claire rolled her eyes as she walked back over to her bed.

"It's not like you guys heard me anyways." She said rolling her eyes. It was true. When Cam and Kristen got "lost in each others eyes" they were very effective at tuning everyone, and everything out.

Cam chuckled. "Very true." He said, most likely to Kristen.

"No guys! Don't go all loved- dovey on me! I had the best dream last night that I want to tell everyone about." Massie exclaimed, while slapping Josh awake again.

"Okay Massie." I sighed always being the peace maker. "What was your dream about?" I questioned. I dated Massie in seventh grade for less than a year, but it was still enough time for me to figure out how she could be if someone was in the spotlight when she wanted it. A bitch.

"Oh my God. Okay, you know how our parents are all going away for the weekend next week?" She questioned, even though she already knew.

"Yeah." We all answered at slightly different times.

"Well," She began, her eyes wide. "We threw a totally wicked house party." Everyone was quiet for a moment as we considered the possibilities.

"Dude." Josh said in a mystified voice.

"Dude." Dylan said in a more final one. "We could." She said with hope in her voice, and her mind reeling with possibilities.

"We will." Massie said, confirming what we already knew. Everyone was quiet for a minute taking it all in. Then Massie turned into a drill sergeant. "Okay, we'll need invitations, wardrobe, music, and a place for it all." She rattled off quickly.

"Cam and I can do invitations." Kristen said, quickly signing up for a job.

"Derrick and I will do music." Claire said volunteering us for something that I was hoping for. She had an evil glint in her eye and I knew she would put something like Kings of Leon, or Big N Chunky, from Madagascar 2 on the play list.

Massie must have seen this glint, because she quickly interjected, "And everyone can put in two songs." The wicked glint in Claire's eyes was gone, and now replaced with a glare.

My Spanish teacher call someone a drunken parrot

"Do you not trust me- I mean us, with music?" She asked playfully wide eyed.

"Nope." Massie said simply, then turned to Dylan and Chris. Dylan had a hopeful look on her face.

"I'm guessing you two want food?" Massie smirked after asking. Dylan's eyes lit up, and Chris, almost always laid back, responded with a simple,

"Hells yeah." Massie nodded.

"Alicia, I'm guessing you want to come up with outfits for everyone?"

"Of course." She gushed. Kemp rolled his eyes, but still smiled at her enthusiasm. Lately he had been acting kind of stand off ish, and not being that responsive. I wonder why.

"Massie, what are you doing?" Claire asked, quick to jump in to make sure everything was fair.

"Well, I figure that since it will be held at my house, Josh and I are exempt from anymore work." She said rolling her eyes like it was obvious.

Lazy.

Claire rolled her eyes, thinking the same thing.

"Yes!" Josh exclaimed. "Love you babe!" He said falling back on the pillow.

I looked over at Claire and I could tell that she was thinking really hard about something, because she had a far off look in her eyes, and she was biting her lower lip. I elbowed her lightly in the ribs, trying to bring her back to the present.

"Huh?" She whispered. "Oh, we should probably change before going down for breakfast."

I was still pretty confused with Claire's mood and everything so I just nodded and agreed. "Yeah uh let's get dressed for breakfast." Claire stood up and gave me a wry smile, then went over to the dresser and grabbed one of my sweatshirts and a pair of her jeans and slipped into the bathroom.

All though Claire's strange behavior had been bothering me a lot I loved it when she wore my clothes, it made we feel great. Still with that wonderful feeling, something was bothering Claire. And if something was bothering _my girl _then it bothered me too. I can't stand it when she cried and I sat there helpless, or she felt like she had to face a problem all on her own.

Just by the look on her face this morning I knew that's what she was trying to do, face something all alone. It hurt me more than Claire knew when she did that, she made me feel like she thought she couldn't turn to me, to ask me for help, didn't she I'd do anything for her?

I sighed, got up and grabbed whatever appeared to be clean that was on the floor. I ended up in a pair of army green cargo shorts and a white Henley. I turned around and noticed everyone had fled the room, likely Dylan had rushed everyone downstairs so she wouldn't be parted from her "one true love any longer" (sorry Chris). I laughed a little, oh Dylan and her blueberry pancakes. I started to head downstairs but then realized Claire was still in the bathroom, huh that's weird Claire usually only takes a few minutes to get ready.

I walked over to the bathroom door and gently knocked on it. "Claire, sweetie are you okay?" I pressed my ear to the door and heard a scream. I stopped breathing.

Claire's POV

I got up, grabbed one of Derrick's sweatshirts and a pair of my favorite jeans and slipped into the bathroom. I had been worried all morning about the text I had gotten. I knew I was worrying Derrick, just from the look on his face I could tell his was concerned about me. But I didn't want to tell him, it wasn't his problem and I hated having to run to someone for help. It made me feel like a child, like I couldn't handle anything my self so I had to get someone else to take care of it.

I wasn't going to do that this time, I was going to deal with this by myself, I know Derrick loves me and that he wanted to know what was wrong but he just didn't understand. He couldn't help, there was nothing he could do, and the sooner I realized that he could to.

I locked the bathroom door and sank to the floor against the tub and tried to think. I had no idea what Ethan wanted, he was always a really weird kid in school, staring a everyone, looking like at any minute he'd bomb the place. I knew that whatever he wanted couldn't be good.

Suddenly I heard play, _Over My Head_ I looked around frantically wondering where it was coming from. I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out my cell phone. The front screen read, one new message. I gulped and opened my phone. 1 new message from Ethan Bates:

_I want your blood_

_All over my hands._

I hadn't realized that I screamed until I heard Derrick on the other side of the door.

"Claire!" I heard Derrick, whisper shout. He was trying not to worry anyone else, just like I was. I knew that Derrick wouldn't go away until he knew what was wrong. I quickly tried to hide my phone, and unlock the door at the same time. As soon as the door was unlocked Derrick pushed his way into the bathroom.

"Claire, are you okay, what's going on?" He said quickly, checking me over for any scratches, or bruises or anything like that. I wanted to break down into his always comforting, and loving arms. I wanted to cry and tell him everything that was going on. I wanted to so badly, yet I knew I couldn't.

"Yeah, Derrick. Everything is fine. I've just got a headache. I'll be down in a minute." I said looking him in the eye. I could tell that he didn't want to leave me alone, and I didn't want him too. He nodded, biting his lip. He quietly shut the door behind him, but not before giving me a last glance as if he was asking permission to leave. I nodded my head yes. I would be fine, I told myself. When he was gone I sunk down to the floor again, and started crying. A few minutes went by, I honestly didn't know how much time it was, because before I knew it, Derrick was at the door again, knocking lightly as if not to irritate my "head ache." I cleaned my face up a bit. There were somethings that I couldn't get rid of. Like my red cheeks, or bloodshot eyes. Since the texts had started coming, I hadn't been getting good nights of sleep. I unlocked the door, and mentally prepared myself for the onslaught of questions that would come. Derrick quickly walked into the bathroom, and locked the door behind him. He had a grim look on his face, that I didn't want to see. He sat down beside me, and wrapped his big, comforting arms around me.

"Claire," He started, "Do you honestly not trust me that much as to not tell me what's really bothering you?" He said, his voice sounding pained in a way that I hadn't heard since he explained why he was adopted to me. I hated that sound in his voice, and what made it worse was taht I was causing that pain. I was already tired of putting up a brave face, and I didn't expect Derrick to sound that hurt. So, I did what I thought had to be done. I didn't want him to break up with me because of lack of trust. Derrick was the best thing that ever happened to me, so I handed over my phone, and I waited for the volcano to erupt.

**You all better be happy. My parents are so mad at me right now, because I won't get off the computer. And pay some respect to I. Glow. In. The. Dark. She busted her butt, and now feels like slitting her wrists. Okay, I'm done going all parent on you. Can I at least have eight reviews? I have 700 hits, yet only 25 reviews. Thanks. **


	5. Comforting Love

**YAY! Peoples I knew you could do it! There were eight reviews! I'm so proud of you! Do you think we could get to nine this time? If not eight will be fine. So anyways, on to the chapter! AWAY! This chapter is dedicated to Bailey. Thanks for being so **_**awesomesauceICAL. **_

**Disclaimer: MWHAHAHAHA once I take over the world with my clones we will make a goal of buying the Clique. But until then. **

_**Hellogoodbye: Baby It's Fact**_

**DPOV**

I swear the minute I heard Claire scream I stopped breathing until she let me into the bathroom. It was a sound that made my toes curl. A sound that I _never_ wanted to hear again. As soon as the lock clicked I burst into the bathroom. The sight that I was seeing was heartbreaking. Claire was standing next to the sink, panting slightly with tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Claire, what's wrong?" I asked desperately. I wanted to find the answer. My girl was suffering. I not only wanted to know the answer, I needed it. I needed it like a person that was drowning needed oxygen. The intensity of it burned in my chest, tugging incessantly at my heartstrings like never before. I _had_ to find out what was wrong. Unfortunately, the answer was one that I didn't want. A lie.

"I'm fine Derrick. I've just got a headache. I'll be downstairs soon." She said making it clear that she wanted to be alone. Then, she did something that made me ache down to my core. She nodded toward the door, making it clear that she didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on. When I realized this, it made stop almost dead in my tracks. I looked back at her to make sure she really wanted me gone and she nodded again.

_**Margot and the Nuclear So and So's: Bookworm**_

I walked down the stairs, barely feeling the padded wood beneath my feet. Everyone was around the breakfast nook. Everything was how it should be down here. Dylan and Todd were having a pancake eating competition. Kemp was making bets. Alicia was examining her nails. Everything was right. How it always was. Jay looked up from his chocolate chip pancakes and I noticed that he had a bit of maple syrup around his mouth.

"Claire coming down?" He asked with a questioning glance back at the stairway.

"She should be down soon. She's got a headache." I numbly said relaying the message that Claire had given me. Massie shot me a quick look. Good, I thought I'm glad it wasn't just me.

I sat down on the cushioned white chair that I normally sat at when I ate at the Lyon's house. I was a frequent visitor here. I cut into my pancakes and put the food on my fork. I quickly choked it down, not really tasting it. At all. I just wanted to get back upstairs to see Claire. I was hoping if I tried a second time, I would get a second, better answer. With every possibility of what could be wrong, I ate faster and faster, and finished my food in record time. I tired to clear my plate, but Judi waved her hand as if to say, "don't worry about it." I nodded an appreciative thanks, and walked at a normal pace out of the room to the staircase. When I was at the stairs and out of everyone's line of vision, I took the stairs in twos.

_**Evanescence: Haunted**_

I got to the second level and the sound of Claire's cries filled the air like the stench of a fart in a car with no air conditioning. Crying was a sing of pain. Mental or physical, it was still pain. And when my girl was in pain, so was I. I slowly, and softly knocked on the bathroom door and could envision Claire sniffing, pushing herself off the ground, cleaning herself up before opening the door. When the lock clicked I pushed my way into the bathroom, and saw Claire sitting on the floor, staring up at me with her blue, bloodshot eyes. I quickly sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her half-way quivering torso, and pulled her head under my chin. As I spoke, my voice wavered a bit.

"Claire, do you really not trust me enough to tell me what is bothering you?" I whispered, my voice heavy with so much heartbreak that it was almost visible. I knew Claire could tell, because she stiffened a bit from beside me. But hones to God, that was how I felt. It was like I was awake during open heart surgery. It took a few minutes, but I finally got the response I had been looking for all along. After a few precarious breaths, she handed me her phone.

_**Evanescence: Tourniquet **_

This was what I had been wanting to do for a while, but I couldn't just snoop through my girlfriend's phone. I went immediately to the received messages tab, and clicked on the first one I saw. The first message was from the freaky- just got back from the asylum and I'm ready to kill everyone- kid Ethan Bates.

What the bloody _hell _was he doing texting Claire?

_02/17 10:23 A.M. _

_Claire Stacey Lyons. _

_Born December eighteenth 1990 at 2:43 A.M. at Mt. Viernes Hospital in Orlando Florida. That's right Claire, I know about you, but you don't know who I am. At least not yet. I'm communicating to say, Hello. And goodbye is a long way away. _

My rage grew as I read every text message. This dude- Ethan- was a bastard. He was threatening Claire's family, friends, me. Even Janet and Darrel. Anything that would affect Claire. She was currently sitting beside me, her body convulsing with silent sobs. So she would be more comfortable, I pulled her onto my lap. I knew I couldn't murder him. _Yet._

I had to be there for Claire. I could tell she was terrified right now. She was still crying with salty tears running down her pale cheeks. I wanted to help her so badly, so I clicked on the last message, and my blood ran cold.

_I want your blood._

_All over my hands. _

_**Flight of the Concords: Hyphopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous **_

I felt a strange ice cold run through my veins, then there was numb. It was slowly seeping, not only through my veins, but leaking into my bones. You know when you're at the dentist and they give you a shot, or those Q- tips in your mouth to numb you and your mouth is out of your control? Well, this is what it felt like. Only worse, because my entire body was out of my control. Rage ran through my body like taxis ran through New York City. There was another emotion though. Fear? I didn't dwell on it. Why would I be afraid? Sure, Ethan was resourceful, but once I told the rest of the guys…

He was going down.

Hard.

_**Panic at the Disco: The only difference between suicide and martyrdom**_

I've always believed that Claire had a bit of a mind reading power, because through all of the feelings hitting me at once I could feel Claire flailing her head madly.

"No Derrick, you can't tell. Anyone. I'm already afraid of what's going to happen to you when he finds out." She managed to stammer out, her voice cracking on the last part.

"Claire," I said tilting her head so I could look her in the eyes. "I'm not going to get hurt. I'm only worried about you." I finished giving her a most palpable look.

"I'm not worried about that. If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me already." She said matter- o- fact. When she said that it made my rage grow.

"Claire, how long has this been going on?" I questioned her while gritting my teeth.

Claire bashfully bowed her head. "Couple of weeks." She mumbled while a blush crept across her tear- traced face.

_**The Killers: Mr. Brightside**_

"What?" I asked while clenching my jaw. I heard her perfectly, I just didn't believe it.

"A couple of weeks." She said more clearly. Maybe it wasn't that I didn't believe her, I just didn't _want_ to believe her. How could I have been so _stupid_? How could something like this be going on right underneath my nose and me not realize it? Claire was being tortured by some sadistic, schizophrenic, and I didn't realize it. Either Claire was a really good actress, or I didn't know her as well as I thought. And that crushed me. I started to break down. The emotions that I had been holding in since this whole ordeal had started were now playing like a CD on repeat, across my face.

"Derrick, Derrick! Please don't cry. It'll be okay. You'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Just please don't cry!" She frantically whispered to me, reassuring me and herself at the same time.

I chuckled a bit through my tears. Claire- my girl- never ceased to amaze me. _She _was comforting _me. _It should be the other way around. But, if everything was how it _should _be, the key word wouldn't be _should._

**CPOV**

_**Third Eye Blind: Never Let You Go**_

**A.N. This starts from when Claire gave Derrick her phone. **

As I waited for Derrick to finish reading the text messages what I had just done hit me with the force of a cement truck.

_I am such an __**idiot**__. _

I basically just signed the love of my life to be put to death.

Or worse.

Who knew what Ethan could do? I certainly didn't. And that scared me. Fear was an emotion that I detested. I hated it so strongly that it brought tears to my eyes. The salty liquid that I had been holding for what seemed like centuries poured over my eyelids. I have a philosophy on crying. It was for babies. I was not a baby. I was above crying. Even though I wasn't like Massie in seventh grade and indestructible, I viewed crying as a weakness.

I didn't want it.

But through my salt- water filled eyes, I realized that I needed it. I needed the relief that crying brought you. The cleansed feeling you were left with. After the feeling of weakness leaves, you feel free. Free from anything and everything.

_**Taking Back Sunday: Cute without the E**_

Then, you stop crying and you realize that whatever you were dealing with before, is still suspended over your head. I wanted to make sure Derrick was okay, but I didn't want to stop crying. So I didn't.

I don't know how much time had gone by. Occasionally, Derrick would rub my back in attempt to make me feel better, but the land of tears is such a secret place. Somewhere between all the texts, he had pulled me onto his lap. Even though he was so calm, I still cried. I thought I would never stop. I peeked up at Derrick to see what text he was reading, and saw that he was about to read the one that I had received this morning.

When I was reminded of the text, shivers of fear coursed up and down my spine and a new set of tears rose up and over. I felt Derrick's body stiffen, and a fresh wave of fear and wondering hit me.

_Would Derrick still love me? _

This caused me to take a shuddering breath. I couldn't loose him. Could not.

Why the hell did I do this?

I tried to look into Derrick's eyes and see the comfort that I needed but all I saw was rage. Undiluted and pure anger. There was so much fury and hate packed in that it almost hurt to look him in the eye. It took a few moments, but he finally calmed down a bit. Then I realized what he was thinking.

_**Secondhand Serenade: Your Call**_

"No Derrick, you can't tell. Anyone. I'm already afraid of what's going to happen to you when he finds out." I stammered before my voice cracked. I could not loose Derrick. I repeated that sentence over and over again like a mantra in my head.

"Claire," He said tilting my head so I could look him in the eye. "I'm not going to get hurt. I'm just worried about you." He said with a ring of finality and sincerity in his voice.

"I'm not so worried about that. If he wanted me dead, he would have done it already." I said like I was stating a fact. It was true though. This has been going on for three weeks. If he wanted me gone, he would have done it already.

"Claire, how long has this been going on?" Derrick said in a questioning manner while gritting his teeth.

Crap, now he was going to be even more pissed.

"Couple of weeks." I mumbled trying to make it sound as inaudible as I could as I ducked my head with a slow blush creeping up on me.

"What?" He asked again. The way his jaw snapped together, I knew he heard what I said.

I cleared my throat. "A couple of weeks." I said in a more concise way. I looked up to see Derrick's reaction. It took a couple of moments of solid rock facial features, then I got a reaction. But I didn't want _this _reaction. Tears. It was tears. Derrick, my Derrick was breaking down. Because of me.

"Derrick, please don't cry!" It'll be okay. You'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Just please don't cry!" I pleaded with him. I needed to get Derrick to stop crying. It was a need that burned within my bones, and went as deep as my core.

As Derrick sniffed the last time and the last crystal tear rolled down his cheek, he pulled me closer to his chest. We just sat there comforting each other in the best way we knew how. One of the things we had in common. Our love.

**How'd you like it? 8 or 9 reviews people, please! **


	6. Risky Decisions

**Yes people, I know it's a really short chapter, but the next one will be the longest so far. I really wanted to get at least one more out before I go back to school. AND I GOT 11 REVIEWS! Thanks so much guys, and to reward you faithful reviewers, I give you a cliffy. Enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form, own the Clique. **

_**The Fray: She is**_

**(CPOV)**

We sat there for what seemed like forever, staring into each others eyes, silently communicating are reassuring what we already knew: We would be okay. I don't know how much time had passed, but before I knew it, Massie was at the door, pounding on it, asking if everything was okay. Right now, okay was a relative term. If you looked at Derrick and I now, yes, we were _okay_. But if you looked at us, not ten minutes ago, everything was not okay. Far from it actually.

"We'd better get out of here." Derrick whispered to me. I scowled. I didn't want to move from this position, let alone face the outside world. Derrick chuckled lightly and kissed away the frown that had grown between my eyebrows.

"I guess so." I said stubbornly. I stood up slowly from Derrick's lap. My legs were stiff from sitting in a cramped up position for so long. Derrick quickly stood up and pulled me into an intimate hug. It was unexpected so my body was stiff for a minute. Then I started to relax more and more and breathed a sigh of relief. The weight that had been hanging over my head was still there, but it was if someone was sharing the burden with me, which made it more bearable. Then Derrick whispered almost inaudibly,

"If you get anymore texts, send them to me. I don't care what they say, I want to know." Derrick finished while looking me straight in the eye.

_**Paramore: Never Let This Go**_

I nodded quickly to reassure him even though I was lying. If it was anything about him, I wouldn't send them. I couldn't bring myself to show him those. He looked at me with an intense gaze. It was almost like he was looking right through me. Like he could see that I was lying. I could see millions of emotions in his caramel swirled orbs. **A.N. I. love. Dr. Pepper. Gave me that idea. THANKS! **The most prominent ones were trust, love, confidence and maybe a hint of fear and worry. But there was no regret. There was no hate. There was no indecision like there should have been. And that made me extremely happy.

"Is everything okay in there?" Massie asked again, while still pounding on the door.

Derrick tore his gaze away from mine, chuckled lightly and plastered a small smile on his and opened the door.

"Everything's fine. Derrick and I-" I started to say to Massie, but was interrupted by a song.

_I never knew_

_I never knew that everything was falling through_

_That everything I knew was waiting on a que. _

Oh. Shit.

_**Hawthorne Heights: Niki FM **_

Derrick's hand quickly found mine as I we waked into my bedroom. Everyone was scattered about. Kemp and Alicia were sitting at my desk. Kristen and Cam in my chaise. Chris and Dylan were near the mini fridge, and Josh and Massie were in the middle of the floor. Alicia had found notebooks for everyone to start writing their ideas for their assignments on.

I walked over to my bed and scooted to the middle of it. Derrick went to the stack of notebooks to grab one for us to start working on the play list. I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and hoped that I didn't attract any attention. I fought back a scream as my eyes widened.

_I warned you. I __**fucking **__warned you. You went ahead and told your precious Derrick, and now because of that risky decision, by this time tomorrow, someone in the elite Westchester community will. Be. Dead. _

My breathing picked up rapidly as I read the message. The feeling of light-headedness nestled its way into my head as the phone played the song again.

_And it's all. Your. Fault. _

Oh. _shit. _

My line of vision went a hazy red, then a dark, ominous black. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was the look of pure anxiety on Derrick's face.

**DUH DUH DUHHHH!** **Did you guys like it? I'll update as soon as I can. Again, thanks for the 11 reviews! You guys really know how to make a girl feel good. Thanks so much!**


	7. Faints and Promises

**Okay peoples. First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the people who review. Seriously, you guys make my world go round. Not joking. Twelve reviews! I'm now using the proceeding lines to tell you guys all the awesome reviewers for chapter six. **

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**Thanks so much you guys! Now onto the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: No. **

_**Paramore: That's What You Get**_

When Claire and I walked back into the room, everyone was working on their assignments. I led Claire to her bed and I heard her get her phone out of her pocket, and I knew what would happen would not be good. Ethan previously knew that she wouldn't tell anyone, and when she told me, that must have messed up his _entire _plan.

I walked over to the stack of notebooks that were fanned out beside Massie and Josh. Claire and I were going to start working on the party mix, but I knew that it would be difficult. There were so many other thing going on inside our head right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Claire chose all Evanescence. Massie wouldn't be too happy if that happened. I looked through the pile to find a blue notebook, thinking that maybe Claire's favorite color would cheer her up a little bit.

When the sound of Claire hyperventilating met my ears, I knew something was horribly wrong.

I knew that that text was worse than I thought.

I quickly turned around to see if I could try to help my love, and my eyes met hers, wide with fear, before closing tightly, and her head fell backwards, bringing her upper body with it.

"Claire," my mouth seemed to shout as I shot forward to catch her before her head hit the wall.

Everyone looked up from their sheets of inspiration as my hand found the crown of her head just in time. _Their _eyes were large with worry and fear. _My _eyes were wide with terror, worry, and _hate_. Not hate that was aimed towards anyone in this room, but hate toward that monster that was known as Ethan Bates.

"Claire, love, wake up." I said while lightly tapping her face. Hey eyes stayed closed.

"Please Claire." I pleaded with her as Josh told Cam to go get an ice cold glass of water.

_**The Fray: Look After You**_

Maybe that would help.

"Claire." I tried one last time. No response.

"You want me to pour it on her?" Cam asked as he came out of Claire's bathroom with a plastic cup of water.

"No, don't pour it on her." Josh said with a wary expression on his face as he looked back at Claire. Josh's dad was a doctor, and he wanted to go into the field of medicine as a pediatrician, so I suspected that he knew what he was doing. "Derrick, can you put your hands in the glass, then around Claire's face?" He asked me, his brown eyes, wide.

I nodded quickly agreeing, and letting Massie know that I needed her to take Claire's head and dipped my hands in the cup as Cam held it out for me. I winced as my fingers came in contact with the frigid water.

I quickly put my hands on both sides of Claire's face with my middle fingers hitting her temples. Claire took a quick gasp of air when I pressed a bit harder to her cheek. Her eyes flew open, and quickly narrowed against the light.

"Claire, thank God." I exclaimed at the same time, planting a kiss on her forehead. I breathed out a sigh of relief and took her in my arms.

_**Boys Like Girls: Dance Hall Drug**_

"Are you alright Claire?" Kemp asked. Worry was clear on his face, as well as the rest of the guys. All of them viewed her as a little sister, and would be crushed if anything happened to her.

Claire nodded slowly, reassuring everyone that she was okay.

"Why do you think you fainted Claire?" Alicia asked, her brown- almost black- eyes wide with wonder as Kemp wrapped his arms around her.

Claire thought for a minute before answering, trying to cover up the texts. "Probably because I didn't get anything breakfast. I'll be fine once I get an orange, or something." She said moving from my arms and started getting off the bed.

I quickly followed her, making sure that she didn't stumble, or faint again.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I whispered in her ear we stood at her door.

Claire looked at me, her blue eyes filled with the crystal tears that she was holding back. This text was bad.

Really bad.

_**Paramore: Franklin**_

I grabbed her cell phone off the bed to give to Claire. I had to find out what this text was.

I walked back over to Claire and grabbed her hand in efforts to let her know, I was still here, and I wasn't leaving.

Claire gave a quick, but weak smile as I intertwined our fingers. We walked out into the hallway, and as soon as the door had clicked shut, Claire started breathing heavily.

"Oh my God…oh my God, Derrick." Claire stuttered. "All my fault. All my fault." She said cryptically.

"Claire, love, nothing is your fault. Nothing at all. No matter what happens. _Nothing._" I said, even though I didn't know what was going on.

_**We The Kings: Skyway Avenue**_

"Derrick, you've got to know… that you're in love with a soon- to- be murderer." She looked up at me with wide eyes, and a gut- wrenching expression on her angelic face.

"Claire, I have to know what you're talking about." I whispered to her, while moving into Todd's bedroom that was beside Claire's. He had went over to Nathan's.

"But Derrick, you might not love me afterwards. After you see the text." Claire said, either stalling, or truly nervous.

"Claire, nothing you could do would me love you less. _Nothing at all._" I said one- hundred percent truthfully.

Claire slowly took out her phone, letting one of her tears that she was holding back with the strength of a thousand men, slide slowly down her flushed cheek.

She handed me her phone and then quickly closed her eyes, in efforts not to let the tears that were gathered like people in a mosh pit, fall.

Still keeping one hand in mine, I brought up the received messages tab, and clicked on the most recent one I saw.

_Saturday, March 13. 10:37 A.M. _

_And it's all. Your. Fault. _

What? That didn't make any sense. What was her fault?

I clicked the back button, and saw the text below. It looked like it would clear up any confusion.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, it did.

_**Avril Lavigne: Together**_

__

I warned you. I

_fucking__ warned you. You went ahead and told your precious Derrick, and because of __that risky decision, by this time tomorrow, someone in the elite Westchester community will. Be. Dead. _

Bile rose in my throat, and I quickly made an effort to choke it back.

The text that I had read before suddenly made sense, and for the second time that day, my eyes widened in fury.

He was seriously going to kill someone.

With this new information, I began to fear for Claire's life even more. If he was going to kill someone for no reason, imagine what he would do for a reason. And, schizophrenic or not, you could not muster up this much hate for a person.

What could Claire could have done to deserve this? Well maybe Ethan Bates himself, but no one else.

_**Panic at the Disco: Mad as Rabbits** _

"Derrick? Oh God, I knew I shouldn't have shown you that text. Or any of them for that matter." Claire said while taking her cell phone from my hands. "Nothing is going to be the same. Nothing. Derrick, not even us." She choked out painfully.

It was that sentence that made me switch the decision I had made earlier around. I couldn't let this come between our relationship, so I would prove it to Claire that it wouldn't.

"Claire," I said while getting down on my knees and taking her clammy hands in my warm ones, once again. "It _will _be okay. I _promise_ you. Will you promise me one thing?" I asked while fingering in my pocket, what I had been carrying around for a few days.

"Anything Derrick." Claire said promisingly, while wiping her tear- filled eyes, clear.

"When all of this shit blows over, and we're out of high school, you'll marry me?"

**Yeah, that's right, another cliffy. But we all know what Claire's going to say. Or do we? Just to let all of you know, it's a promise ring. Thanks for the twelve reviews! Oh, and Bailey, I have no idea who emailed who last. And Danyelle, was it worth the wait? **

**You know what to do!**


	8. Before Breakfast Promises

**I think I'm finally getting the hang of this updating thing. Thank God for you guys right? I have one thing to tell you guys: I'm starting a new Twilight story! It will be all human, and I've already got the first chapter written. I just have to type it up. Go check it out. **

**Oh, and I don't own the Clique. Onto the story!**

_**The chatter of a Dr.'s waiting room**_

**CPOV **

"When all of this shit blows over, and we get out of high school, you'll marry me?" Derrick asked with hope shining radiantly in his gorgeous eyes

For a moment I was stunned. Shocked. Astounded. Whatever you could think of that would tell you how taken by surprise I was.

I was not expecting that.

At all.

I think my heart went into overdrive when he pulled an amazing ring out of his pocket. It was a sparkling gold, with tiny diamonds around the band. But if that wasn't enough, there was a silver heart that was half on the inside of the ring, and half on the outside so the band was running through it. (**Pic on profile)** Not ostentatious, but just perfect.

_**Phantom Planet: California**_

Wait a minute. He was proposing. To me.

I can't get married yet. I have my whole life ahead of me. I just got my acceptance letter to Dartmouth.

Derrick must have noticed my hesitation, because he quickly shook his head.

"It's a promise ring. See?" He tilted the ring to show me the engraved words, _I promise_ in swirly calligraphy on the inside of the ring.

I felt the tears begin to well up in the corners of my eyes. Derrick- amazing, godly, awesome, Derrick- wanted me. For the rest of his life.

"It's to show you that when I can, I _will_ marry you, and I _will _love you until the end of time. So what do you say?" He said quickly, yet just as passionately as when we were talking earlier.

_**Paramore: Born For This**_

Thinking about earlier reminded me of the help that I needed to get through this. I didn't want it, but it was necessary.

I opened my mouth to give an anticipative Derrick my answer.

The salty, wet tears originated more, to trail down my already damp cheeks for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Yes." I whispered passionately, solidifying the hope that we would get through this _together._ Just like Derrick had told me earlier, everything would be okay. He still loved me, and noting could take that away. He knew that, and now so did I.

_**Anna Nalick: Breathe **_

Derrick slipped the ring onto my right ring finger- I would have to change that later- and almost plowed into me, attaching his lips to mine. I eagerly responded when he licked my bottom lip, by opening my mouth. As our tongues tangoed together, the world surrounding us quickly faded away. I was aware of Derrick, and Derrick only. It was absolutely unfathomable how he made me feel this way. So in love, and happy. I once heard that love is when reality is finally better than your dreams. Even with Ethan harassing me, as long as Derrick was there, everything would be okay.

"Yo Claire!" Todd said, banging loudly on the door outside.

"Bloody hell." Derrick cussed almost inaudibly as he rolled off of me. I chuckled softly and sat up, finger- combing my messed up tresses.

Derrick and I walked to the door and Derrick slipped out without Todd even realizing that he was there with me.

"Yeah?" I asked Todd, my eyebrows raised impatiently.

"One," Todd started, "Massie told me to tell you two to stop "having breakfast." He said using air quotes and a smirk on his freckled- soon to be bruised- face.

I rolled my eyes, but my usual blush gave our previous activities away. "What else?" I asked impatiently.

"Huh?" He asked looking confused.

"Normally when a person says one, they have another thing to say." I explained slowly, and enunciated every word like you would with a little child.

"Oh yeah!" Todd exclaimed after a few seconds of trying to remember.

"I was wondering if I could borrow you're _The White Stripes _CD? I'm going over to Nathan's and we wanted to listen to it."

_**Frou Frou: Holding out for a Hero**_

I laughed loudly when he asked me this. The last thing I had let Todd borrow of mine to take over to Nathan's, was my old Ipod. They decided to play catch with it. Nathan had stood at one end of the pool, and Todd at the other. It didn't end so well. For the Ipod, or Todd.

As soon as my laughter had died down, I looked Todd dead in his expectant eyes and said, "No way in hell." Then walked past him, and down the stairs to the kitchen to where Derrick was standing at the microwave with an ecstatic look on his face. He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"That happy eh?" I said, peering into the microwave to see what my mom had made for breakfast. Yum, chocolate chip pancakes.

Derrick quickly grabbed me in his warm arms and mumbled against my forehead, "You have no idea how happy you make me, do you love?"

"I think it's the exact opposite." I murmured as I took the pancakes out of the microwave.

Derrick laughed, and muttered something about me being to stubborn as I grabbed a fork out of the drawer. Derrick poured me a glass of orange juice, and we sat down at the table. He sat across from me, staring. I didn't find it scary, or creepy, but rather a sweet gesture that made it a bit difficult to eat.

_**Jimmy Eat World: The Middle**_

"Claire bear!" My dad's voice boomed like Emmet Cullen's as he walked down the stairs with my mom not far behind him.

"Hey dad." I said as I slipped the ring into my pocket. We wouldn't want them to jumping to conclusions.

"Feeling better sweetie?" My mom said as she put the back of her hand to the back of my forehead and being the always concerned mother that I knew and loved.

"Yeah mom. Much better." I answered truthfully and smiling at Derrick.

And I did. My mind could take a sigh of great relief now that things were almost right. Almost.

But I refused to think about that right now. I wanted to be on top of the world. I wanted nothing to be able to bring me down. I wanted Derrick right beside me, and I had that. I had him and his love, and right now, that was all I needed.

**Ya like? Well don't say yes to your computer screen silly! (Woah, I haven't used that word in a long time) Tell me it in a review! Speaking of them , thanks for the nine reviews people! Keep them coming. Yes, yes Danyelle- TWSS. **


	9. Fakeout

Okay. Chapter nine of Forever Starts Tonight is finished. I swear to God, it is.

But my parents decided to ground me from the computer for a week. So expect the update next Friday at the latest. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I see that date being Friday. I know. They're... parents. What can ya do?

I'm so sorry guys, and I hate these fake out chapters just as much as you do, so it pains me to write one. Again, I'm sorry.

But the chapter is finished.

Again, I'm sorry.


	10. Masked Ideas

**My mom is out with my dad and brothers right now, so instead of checking my overloaded inbox, I decided to attempt to update. Lucky you! **

**Disclaimer: God. Make me feel bad for admitting it. Meanie.**

**(Cam's POV)**

_**We the Kings: This is Our Town**_

"So what do you think is really going on with Claire?" Kristen whispered in my ear, looking up from the yellow notebook we were brainstorming with.

"I have no clue Kris." I answered truthfully with a grimace marking my face. It bugged me that I didn't know the truth.

Claire and I had been good friends. She had been like a little sister to me. Even after we broke up in eighth grade, we remained close. It was never awkward either. Claire helped me and Harris, when our parents were getting divorced. And when The Strokes broke up **A/N/ God forbid! **We needed a lot of help then.

"I'm worried about her Cam." Kristen said, jarring me out of my memories. She looked at me, her big celery green eyes shining with apprehension.

"I am too Kristen. I am too." I answered back to her, letting her know that she wasn't alone in her worry, or it misplaced.

Kristen gave me a small smile before looking back down at the notebook. She looked like she looked like she was thinking hard on something when Derrick and Claire walked into the room.

Derrick walked in with the swagger of a champion, his arms wrapped around a glowing Claire. I hadn't seen her so happy in a few weeks. She had a healthy flush to her cheeks, and her eyes were lit up with euphoria.

I think he finally grew a pair and asked her. And by the looks of it, she said yes.

_**Nada Surf: Popular**_

Good, they both deserve some happiness in their life.

They walked to where they were before and Claire opened the notebook, and immediately started writing down songs and Derrick kept the same goofy grin on his face that he had when they walked into the room.

Massie looked up from where she was sitting on Josh's lap- lazily scrolling through bands on Claire's ipod- and narrowed her eyes in confusion. And I knew it wasn't from the names on there. But, I could understand why she would look confused. Right now, Derrick and Claire were so... happy. So joyous, that it was almost palpable. And that was a stark contrast to how they were not even two hours ago.

When I looked back down at Kristen, I could see her eyes light up. She had an idea.

"Hey Mass?" Kristen started slowly, probably getting her thoughts in order.

"Yeah Kristen?" Massie asked, her freshly plucked eyebrows raised.

"I just had a great idea." Kris said slowly but excitedly.

"What is it?" Massie asked, her strangely colored eyes filled with wonder.

"Instead of this being a normal house party," Kris paused to take a breath and increase the anticipation. Everyone was suddenly giving Kristen their full, undivided attention. "Why don't we throw a masquerade party?" Kristen finished excitedly, almost bouncing.

"I remember in ninth you said that you had always wanted to hold one at a hotel or your house. This is the perfect opportunity." Claire said in a jovial voice. Claire was in no means a girly- girl, but she couldn't resist dressing up.

**_The Fray: How To Save A Life_**

"I like it Kristen. Leesh, you still want outfits?" Massie asked with a smirk growing on her face. She knew that Alicia would want outfits more than ever now.

Alicia's brown eyes grew noticeably wider and she nodded her head furiously.

Massie chuckeled at her enthuastic friend. "You'll have to find masks also." She said, knowing that Alicia already knew that.

"Of course." She said with a light in her eyes.

"This is a great idea Kristen." Massie said, nodding her head in appreciation.

Kristen blushed slightly and muttered a quiet thank you.

Then I got an idea for the invitations.

"Krissy, can I see the pencil?" I asked her while picking up the notebook from the floor.

Kristen gave the pencil to me in a flash. I guess she knew how fleeting my ideas could be. I quickly started sketching my invitation design.

I drew the top line of the mask- slash- invite. It went up when the line grew to where the eyebrows were, dipped back down at where the nose was, and back up at the second eyebrow. Then I drew a soft curve around the temple and under the eye. Then I went under the right eye again, and brought it to a finish back where I started.

"That looks amazing Cam." Kristen whispered as she looked down at the notebook in my lap.

"Thanks Krissy." I whispered back to her. "We just have to figure out the details. Like the outside, and what the inside will say.

"Leave that up to me." Kristen said with a soft smile on her beautiful face.

I looked up at her, slightly unsure if I wanted my creation to go with her. After all, it was amazing.

She laughed. "Don't worry. Your masterpiece will be fine. I promise."

God, how did she always know?

**_The Strokes: Fear of Sleep_**

"Really, I'm looking out for your best interests. If anyone knew that you had designed this by yourself, they might think this is your attempt to come out of the closet." She said so matter- o- factly. And loudly.

"Dude?" Kemp said warily as he looked up from the notebook that Alicia was writing down designers on.

Kristen laughed loudly as she caught on to what Kemp was thinking. Or what he was displaying on his face.

"Forget everything you heard before this sentence Kemp. Please. And ignore Kristen. She poured too much syrup on her pancakes this morning at breakfast."

"Hey!" Kristen exclaimed. "I'm not kidding! Kemp, what would you think if I told you that Cam designed the majority of the invitations, _by himslef_?" She questioned.

I rolled my eyes. She always had to be right.

"That he was gay." Kemp concluded.

"Thanks man." I said shortly, glaring at Kemp. He shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to Alicia's notebook.

Then, I turned my attention back to Kristen and mine's to find that she was already filling out the designs.

What she had come up with was incredible. It resembled a guy's mask. It had gold in the middle of it, and white on the outside. There was a large diamond in the middle, and it had gold swirls around it. "And that's how you fill in the designs on the outside. How do you like the message? I was thinking that we could have it printed on the inside of the mask." She finished, looking at me. My eyes went down to the small paragraph that she had written below the design.

_The elite young men and women of the Westchester Academy, request the pleasure of your company at a masquerade ball on the evening of Saturday, the twentieth of March, at ten o' clock, located at the Block mansion on Barkhill drive in the county of Westchester New York. _

_Invites are required for admitance. _

"It's awesome Kris." I said, in shock of how she could come up with something like this. But she had always been a quick thinker. That was what had made me like her. "Now we just have to get it approved by the queen bee over there," I said, nodding toward Massie who was filing her nails. "And we're done."

"Well that wasn't difficult." Kristen decided.

"No, it wasn't at all." I agreed with her.

This party was going to be okay. And of course, Kristen being there would make it bettter. It always did.

**I'm sorry if it wasn't that good. I'm used to writing in the POV of a little couple that is dramatically in love with eachother. This was a small step down. The first reviewer who can tell me the Brittney Spears lyric in this chapter, gets to pick the couple I do next. Danyelle, you cannot particiapate. And I'm sorry for any typos. I had to write this on FF without a word chech, so yeah. The picture is of the mask, invite is on my profle. So now the only thing left is to review! And thanks for the ten I got last chapter. And I'm pretty sure I've asked everyone, but if you have any songs, characters, or now designers you want in the story, just put it in a review. Thanks. **


	11. Trouble in Paradise?

**Hey guys! How are you all doing? I'm surprisingly well. Anyway, I'll make the authors note short. Seemingly Angelic found the Brittney Spears lyric, it was, "Swagger of a champion." The lyric is from her new hit _Womanizer_. Great song, and great Twilight story based off of the song. Anyways, SA chose Massie's POV for this chapter. I hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer: I have not, nor will ever own the Clique. I have enough eighth grade girls to deal with on a daily basis, and I don't need any more. **

* * *

Trouble in Paradise?

**_The murmuring of a Spanish class_**

When we came back from the deliciously fattening breakfast Judi made, I wanted everyone to get to work on their assignments. This party had to be the greatest party ever. This party had to go down in history and act as a gold standard for all the house parties to come in the future. In basic English, I wanted this party to be the best.

I had the people who knew the most about their assignments working on them. They were practically experts.

Alicia knew the differences between Zac Posen, and Oscar de la Renta, better than the chief editor of _Vogue_ would. And Dylan ate like a chef, but with the class of a food critic. It may not seem like it, but Kristen was the most creative girl I knew. I had a feeling she would be done with her's and Cam's job quickly. Claire knew almost every "good," song out there. If you could play the opening notes to a song, she wold know it in a matter of seconds. But, with every great thing comes a risk. Claire liked a... different type of music. Not like Japanese pop or anything, but not what everyone else liked.

To prove that point to myself, I picked up Claire's silver Ipod and scrolled through the artisit.

Who the heck was Blue Foundation? Dashboard Confessional? Iron and Wine?

Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. But then just as soon as I thought that, I came across the standard Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift that every girl has on their Ipod, and that gave me a little bit of reassurance.

I snuggled deeper into Josh's warm arms, and lazily looked at the games Claire had on her Ipod. Ooh, Tetris.

As I twisted, turned, and dropped blocks, Derrick and Claire walked into the room looking happier than Dyaln when she got the Scorpion Supercar for her eighteenth birthday.

**_Hellogoodbye: Homewrecker_**

Am I missing something?

About two hours ago, Claire was hyperventilating and fainting, and Derrick was so worried, he was almost in tears.

I think I'm out of the loop.

I don't like being out of the loop.

Cam's weird eyes met mine, and we shared a confused glance. Good, glad I'm not alone with my line of thought.

But, whatever. They seemed happy.

But what if that happiness was just a cover. What if something else was going on between them. What if something was wrong with their _relationship._

**_Versaemerge: The Blank Static Screen_**

I was never the kind of girl who idolized my parents marriage. I knew they fought like every normal couple. I knew that there was always the possibilty that they could get divorced. But when Derrick asked Claire out, they were so happy. So perfect. So in love. I quickly grew to idolize their relationship like a normal daughter or son would their parents. And then I wanted a relationship like theirs, if not better. Then Josh asked me out, and I found love. How tipsy it was. How blissfully perfect it could be. How much of a roller coaster you made it.

About six months into our relationship, I started letting my insecurities get the best of me. Josh and I fought countless times, and even though I was almost perfect in every way, I was afraid. Afraid that Josh would find someone better than me. Someone who liked the same things as him, or was sweeter than me. But if I was still planning on beirn the newest addition to the Hotz family, that could not happen.

I told myslef I was strong. That I didn't need to look to Derrick and Claire's relationship as the guidelines. Sometimes, I just couldn't help it.

I pushed the deep, self- intriguing thoughts out of my head, and surveyed the group. Dylan and Chris were looking slightly starved. Derrick and Claire looked happier than clams. Alicia had her thick, black eyebrows furrowed in effort, and Kemp was staring at the paper. Just staring at it. Weirdo. When I looked at Cam and Kristen, Cam was pondering something, and Kristen's mouth was slightly agape. Umm, okay?

"Hey Mass," Kristen spoke slowly.

"Yeah Kristen?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I just had a great idea." She said, her green eyes wide.

"What is it?" I asked in wonder, trying to hide my jealousy. Why was everyone coming up with these fantastic ideas but me?

**_Anberlin: Feel Good Drag_**

"Instead of this being a normal party," Kristen paused to take a breath, and I tried not to scoff. If I had anything to do with it, this would not be a normal party. Everyone looked up from their ideas to give Kristen their attention. "We throw a masquerade party."

I drew in a gasp at the suggestion. My mind suddenly started reeling out of control with the possibilities and ideas.

Perfect.

This would be amazing.

"I remember in ninth, you said you wanted to throw one. This is the perfect opportunity." Claire told me appily.

"I like it Kristen. Leesh, you still want outfits?" I said, trying to hide my smirk. If I know anything, I know my best friend.

Alicia nodded her head furiously, her jet black hair flying everywhere.

I chuckeled lightly, and thought, no need to even ask.

"You'll have to find masks also." I told her, knowing that it would make her job more fun.

"Of course." Alicia told me with a light in her eyes that I hadn't seen in a while.

"This was a great idea Kristen." I said, nodding my head out of appreciation.

Kristen, being as bashful as ever, ducked her head, blushed, and mumbled a humble thank you.

**_Plusminus: Ignoring All The Details_**

I rolled my eyes at her reaction. how she was still so bashful remained to be seen. I mean, she had Dylan as a friend. Don't get me wrong, I love Dyl. She was loud, and funny, and could relieve the stress of any situation.

Alicia had gotten quietter over the years. She would talk a lot about something she loved, but not about much else. She was still a whiz at fashion and gossip, but not as verbal about everything.

Me, I was the perfectionist. I was strong- willed, and fueled with enthusiasim. I had tried to tone down the "meanness," a little bit since I started dating Josh, but if you insulted me or my friends, I'd go all Quilete Indian on you. A hot girl- or guy in the Quilete's case- for one second, and a man- eating beast the next. I guess you could say I was protective of my friends.

Kristen was the quiet, intelectual girl that would actually remember if you made her get a bad grade school. She was a grade grubber, and yet she was the most creative person I knew. And of course, so much fun to be with.

**_The Strokes: Razorblade_**

As I pulled a nail file out of Claire's desk drawer, and Josh started snoring behind me, I thought of Claire. I have to admit, I never hated her in seventh grade. I was confused, and even a little jealous. There she was, moving to a new school, in a completely new state, and she didn't seem to care. Claire was like Serena Vander Woodsen from the Gossip Girl books. Spontaneous and fun- loving. She was beautiful and mysterious all at the same time. And through the years of middle and high school, she hadn't changed. She stayed true to herself, and ultimatley her heart. Even in senior year, she didn't care what others thought of her. Maybe that was what Derrick loved so much about her.

Derrick and Claire loved eachother more than any of us could fathom. Maybe more than we would ever be _able_ to fathom. But what if Claire wasn't reciprocating that love. What were all those texts about? Could Claire be cheating on Derrick? And if she was, who with? What would Derrick do about it? More importantly, what would I do if there was trouble in paradise.

I quickly pushed the irritant thought away. I jumped to conclusions way too quickly. Everything is perfect. Perfect friends. Perfect boyfrined. Perfect me. Perfect life. And since everything was perfect, the party would be also.

But why did I have this sickening feeling that it wouldn't be? That something _horrible_ was going to happen, and happen soon. Was this feeling fear, and if so, fear of what?

* * *

Did you guys like it? I got eight reviews last time guys, and that's great, but could I have nine for this chapter? It would mean a sooner update for you. The person who can tell me three of The Strokes songs- NO DANYELLE- gets to pick the next couple. Review! Oh, and the picture of Dylan's car will be on my profile soon.


	12. Magic Eight Balls and Memories

**Here's your weekly update! I want to thank the following reviewers:**

**Emeraldeyes101**

**Sink Ur Teeth In**

**EminaStOrYTime**

**Humathepuma**

**Bailey (Bailz)**

**Maddie. **

**Can we make this chapter the chapter that makes the story's reviews go into triple digits? Hope so! Sink Ur Teeth In named three The Strokes songs, and she chose Kemp. Great choice.  
**

**Disclaimer: While staring at the Coke in my glass, I figured out that I don't own the Clique. Don't ask me what Coke has to do with it. **

* * *

**_Paramore: Here We Go Again_**

After watching Alicia pick at her breakfast like it was covered in head lice, we all came back up stairs, and were commanded by Admiral Block, to start working on our assignments. Why did I even have a job? I didn't really want this party. It was either going to be incredibly up tight, with whom Massie christened "worthy," or infiltrated with skanks in barely there skirts, and showing too much breast for it to even be called "cleavage." Don't get me wrong, I was still a guy. I still loved to get laid, but I had two girlfriends who kept me more than happy. And I didn't want to pick up any STD's Who knew where the chicks from school had been.

Derrick and Claire hadn't joined us yet, and it was making me curious. I wonder what they were up to.

Well actually, I couldn't care less. I just hoped he was figuring out what was going on with Claire. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be having healthy affects on her. I've been told that I'm too perceptive for my own good, so most people, aside from Derrick wouldn't notice the slight changes in Claire's appearance and personality.

Claire had always been somewhat of an insomniac, but the bags under her eyes seemed to be getting worse. Her weight was slowly declining, and... she just fainted. Now I know I'm not a Doctor, but that doesn't seem that to be good for the human body.

I used to see girls as just a thing to have a good time with. Something that would provide for me and make me happy. But Claire changed that pattern of thinking.

During my "formative years," or whatever they're called when you think you know everything and are the greatest thing to walk the planet since Jesus Christ, Claire befriended me. She had been dating Derrick for a few weeks and was sitting at the guys table almost every other day. One day, she decided to take the responsibility upon herself of making sure I didn't stay as screwed up as I was.

*/*/*/*

_It was another boring day of sophomore year. But it was made the slightest bit more interesting, because it was lunch. Everyday at lunch, Claire- the girl Derrick had been head over heels for- would brave the evil French manicured clutches of the Pretty Committee, and sit with us guys. She had more moxy than I thought she did._

_You might think it would be awkward to sit with your best friend's girl friend; it wasn't. It was actually pretty cool. Claire was just like one of the guys. She wasn't like the normal girls in The Pretty Committee, or whatever the heck they called themselves now. She was funny and cool, and had great taste in music. And we all, including Claire, enjoyed laughing at something Massie had blown out of proportion. _

_**Taking Back Sunday: Bonus Mosh Part II**_

_Today Claire was arguing with Massie about sitting with us. The ring leader was still a bit sour about Claire dating Derrick. Some stupid rule about friends dating another friend's ex. Guys had codes like that too. I said screw them. If two people really liked each other, than let them be together. _

_"I wish she wouldn't have to go through this." Derrick said with a slightly pained expression on his face, his British accent flaring up. We were still getting used to that._

_"Why don't you go over there and tell Massie to piss off?" Cam said bluntly._

_I had always suspected that Josh either liked Massie, or was very protective of her, because when Cam finished his sentence, his eyes lit up with anger, and his nostrils flared. Yup, that wasn't conspicuous. Major sarcasm intended. _

_"But what if that made Claire angry? What if she doesn't want a boyfriend who uses bad language?" Derrick asked nervously. I had no idea how you could like someone as much as he did. _

_Chris snorted. "Dude, she has a mouth like a sailor who hasn't been around humans in three years. I don't think she would mind the word, piss." _

_"And besides," Josh added. "She's obviously head over heels for you. You don't have to worry about making her mad. Unlike some of us and our girlfriend**s**." Josh finished, reassuring Derrick, and critisizing me._

_"Huh?" I looked up from my phone. I was texting Lisa and Jessica. _

_All of the guys rolled their eyes. Claire walked over to the table, and with a dramatic sigh, plopped herself down on Derrick's lap. _

_"Hello babe." Derrick said, wrapping his arms around Claire's waist. _

_"Hello Derrick." Claire said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Hey guys." She said, gracing us with a smile. When her eyes rested on my cell phone, she let out an exasperated sigh. "Which girl is it today Kemp? Alison, or Spencer?" She said with a half grimace, half smirk marring her tanned face. _

_"Neither. Lisa and Jessica." I said, raising my eyes to reach her disapproving orbs. "Good afternoon Claire, you're looking marvelous this lunch hour." I said cockily. _

_She then reached across the lunch table and with a flick of her hand, shut my phone, and halted my conversation._

_"Kemp," She started, looking me straight in the eyes. "I'm going to say this slowly, so even you can understand. You... are... a... man- whore."_

_*/*/*/*_

Something about what she said to me that day made me take three steps back and re-evaluate myself. The guys had been telling me that for a while, but I didn't really ever believe them. They were my friends, and every insult a friend would throw at you, you would be able to brush it off with a shrug of your shoulders, or a swift remark back to them. My friends, being my friends, said a lot of insults, so I never took a particular offense to them. I mean come on, they were my friends, no matter how different they were.

_**Dido: This Land**_

Chris was kind, caring, and funny. He was the laid- back type of guy, and therefore, equaled Dylan out perfectly. Cam was the quiet, romantic one. He was smart, and had good taste in music. A push- over when it came to Kristen, but it was easy to tell that he loved her a lot. Josh had become the loud one. He had grew out of his gay Ralph Lauren stage, and finally filled out the big Yankees hat of his. His personality filled out also. He was now loud, and boisterous. From what I had been informed of by the girls, he was a lot like Emmett Cullen. Me, I guess you could say I was still a bit of a philanderer. Claire had changed me for a little bit, but currently I had two girlfriends. Once a man- whore, always a man- whore I guess.

I looked down at Alicia's curly, loopy hand writing that displayed her insane knowledge of fashion, and thought, am I right for doing this to her? Is it really right for me to string her along like this?

Derrick would say no. But then again, Derrick was the noble man. He always seemed to be doing what was right. He was completely in love with Claire. She had helped him in so many ways like, coping with his father's death. His mom. She was so good for him, and vice versa. But Derrick wasn't me. I wasn't Derrick. I didn't always do the right thing, and didn't always try to. Which led me back to my first question, was this deceitful string of lies good? For anyone?

I looked around Claire's room, looking for a magic eight ball to ask. No magic eight ball located in this proximity. But I did see two things. One, Derrick and Claire had come into the room, and Kristen's mouth was agape. Yeah, did I miss something while I was internal monologuing?

"Hey Mass," Kristen said slowly, compelling my attention.

"Yeah Kristen?" Massie asked with a startled look on her face.

"I just had a great idea." Kristen said, getting the attention of everyone.

"What is it?" Massie asked, trying to hide the small amount of jealousy in her voice.

"Instead of this being a normal house party, we throw a masquerade party." She said, almost bouncing.

_**The most annoying girls on the face of the earth**_

I saw out of my peripheral vision, Massie take a sharp, yet small gasp. She was probably thinking of how much better the party would be now that it had some actual form of entertainment.

Claire most likely mistook her silence as a sign that she didn't like the idea, because she quickly jumped in and said, "I remember in ninth, you said that you always wanted to have one. This is the perfect opportunity." She finished with a happy tone in her voice that I hadn't heard in a while.

Massie took a split second to think about it, before saying, "I like it Kristen. Leesh, you still want outfits?" Massie asked with a vain attempt to wipe off the smirk on her face. She knew Alicia would want this.

Alicia nodded her head quickly, her hair almost flying out of the low, messy pony tail it was in.

"You'll have to find masks also." She said with a small smile. She knew Alicia would love this assignment. "This was a great idea Kristen." Massie said, nodding her head in appreciation. Kristen, returning to her quiet demeanor, ducked her head behind a wall of hair, and mumbled a quiet thank you.

"Krissy, can I see the pencil?" I vaguely heard Cam ask.

Kristen must have given Cam the pencil, because I faintly heard the light scratches of a writing implement being sketched across the paper.

I sat there for a few moments in silence before deciding that I should help Alicia. I couldn't contribute that much, but I wanted to know what monkey suits we guys would be forced into. Alicia was scribbling furiously, trying to write down every designer before their names left her mind.

_Zac Posen, Oscar de la Renta, Armani, Alice James, Roberto Cavalli, Burberry_

Woah. Her mind is like those fashoin catalouges- slash- magazines she's always reading. What was it called? Oh yeah, _Vogue_.

"-this is your attempt to come out of the closet." I heard Kristen say, and I immediately thought I tuned in on the wrong part of the conversation between the two.

"Dude?" I asked the giggly couple in a shaky voice. What in the world was going on here? A scared look crossed my face as they only answered me with their blinking eyes. Then Kristen burst into laughter.

"Forget everything you heard before this sentence Kemp. Please. And ignore Kristen. She poured too much syrup on her panckes this morning." Cam told me.

"Hey!" Kristen said, swatting him lightly on the chest. "I'm not kidding! Kemp, what would you think if I told you that Cam deisgned the majority of the invitation idea, _by himself_?" Kristen said, adding emphasis on certain parts of her defense.

"That he was gay." I said, just to appease Kristen. If she wasn't right the first time, she would go around asking everyone until she was right. And if that included the hobo on the corner of Birch, so be it.

"Thanks man." Cam said shortly.

I shrugged my shoulders, then looked back down at Alicia's bulletted thoughts. Five more designers had made their way onto the eilte list since my thirty second conversation with Cam and Kristen.

My God, the woman was like a machine.

I snaked my arms around her waist, and almost immediately, she melted into into myside. I wonder if she knew anything. I really hated to play her like this. She was a great girl, just not for me anymore. Currently, there was only one girl who was really for me, and her name was Layne Abeley.

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**So did you expect that? Tell me in a review! Let's try to make it into the triple digits, if that's not to much to ask. Also, for those Twilight readers, visit Theloinandlambawards (dot) webs (dot) com . I'm putting a link to it on my website guys. The site needs nominations, so if you read Twilight fanfiction, go over and nominate your favorite story. The nominating ends April Second. Also, go vote on my poll! **


	13. Tapped Out On Food Ideas

**Here's Forever Starts Tonight! Thanks so much to the eleven reviewers last chapter. Greatly appreciated guys. This one is from Dylan's point of view. Hope you like it. **

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**_Taking Back Sunday: Liar_**

After scarfing down the deliriously delicious butter- milk pancakes Judi had made, all eight of us tromped up the stairs and back to Claire's room.

Yes, eight. Not ten like normal, but eight.

Claire and Derrick were just in the bathroom -wink wink. Actually, no. God, no. Bad mental image! Insert shudder here. After they came back into the room, they seemed happier, more free. Then, Claire got a text and fainted. Maybe she was feeling _too_ free. Derrick took her to get breakfast, and they had yet to return. I hoped he figured out what was wrong with her. The faint earlier had scared me pretty badly. Claire was one of my best friends, and whatever was wrong with her, we all wanted to know. Even though some people -_coughKempcough-_ were acting like they didn't, I knew they were worried. To reinforce the fact, we all wanted to know. As long as she wasn't taking pills that would prepare her for a sex change or anything like that, I'd be fine.

I leaned against Claire's precious new mini- fridge. I have no idea how she ever lived without one. They were magnificent things that had been assembled by Gods. And they held food. In ninth grade, I decided to ditch my love/ hate relationship with the necessity, and got more active. I joined the soccer team with Claire- Kristen had moved onto swimming- and I could finally eat all the food I wanted. Thank God.

"I think this is going to make me hungry all over again." Chris said, looking up from his hands and his day dream.

"That's definitely a possibility." I said, thinking of all the snacks. "But Judi saved extra breakfast for me to take home, so we're covered." I finished with a lick of my lips, and a welcome sigh to the rumble that might come in my stomach in an hour.

_**Vampire Weekend: Oxford Comma**_

Chris laughed lightly at me, his brown eyes shining happily. This was the kind of relationship I wanted. We weren't deeply in love like Claire and Derrick, and we weren't always fighting like Massie and Josh. It was light- hearted and happy. Being with Chris was like walking on air. Everything around me seemed to always be glowing.

We didn't have any problems in our relationship. Not saying that we were perfect, no. Our problems came from the things around us; our friends. Me saying things about Kemp, like how he's acting around Alicia, or any of us really. Chris would defend him and say some shit like, "Oh that's just how he is." I'd roll my eyes and try to forget about it. Then he would say something about how Claire's been acting, and how I should know what's going on with her. I would rebut and say something along the lines of, "I would like to know, but if Claire doesn't want to tell any of us, that's up to her." He would roll those beautiful eyes of his and say I was right.

I wanted to know what was going on like an obese kid wanted a candy bar. Like Alica wanted to know what was going on with her boyfriend.

**_Jason Mraz: Love For a Child_**

I would lay fifty bucks on a bet that he was cheating on her. But with whom? The more I thought about it, the more confused and clear it became, if that makes any sense at all. If not, let me explain it for you.

I would think I knew who the chick was, but then a hole would be drilled in my theory. There were so many girls that I had thought of and then I would mentally cross them off of the elite list. It was so unbelievable. Let me show you.

Allie- Rose Singer. Totally added during a caffeine high.

Kaitlynne Phillips. New girl. Seems like she'd be Kemp's type of chick.

Latika Niemedar. New foreign exchange student. But she exchanges so much more with the guys than actual information on her home country, India. It's more like cultural _affairs_.

Rebecca Solomon. An old ex of his.

Layne Abeley. See Allie- Rose Singer.

Oh my God, what if Claire was involved somehow. What if ... holy Texas chainsaw ducks, what if Claire was that girl?

Now that is someone I hadn't thought of. It _would_ explain her behavior, but not the fainting, or dramatic physical changes.

I don't think any guy- aside from Derrick- would see the changes, but I was a girl. I was born to notice details, and more importantly, I was one of her best friend's. If _I_ didn't notice the differences, then who would? Her parents obviously weren't.

Speaking of parents, I wondered when my mom and the rest of our parental figures were going to tell us about their vacation.

"Hey Mass," Kristen spoke, jarring me out of my completely inconstant thoughts.

**_Motion City Soundtrack: Hold Me Down_**

"Yeah Kristen?" Massie asked with a curious tone in her voice.

"I just had a great idea." Kristen said, looking like she was going into shock with a mixture of pure euphoria.

"What is it?" Mass asked with a slightly jealous light in her voice this time.

"Instead of this being a normal house party," Kristen paused, getting the attention of Claire and Derrick. When did they get here? "We throw a masquerade party." When she finished the sentence, my mind immediately went to, _Oh my God, Caviar! _

Massie liked the idea. I could tell by the way her eyes widened slightly.

Claire couldn't see this from where she was sitting, all cuddled up on Derrick's lap, because she said, "I remember in ninth, you said you always wanted to have one. This is the perfect opportunity." Funny, I remember that too.

"I like it Kristen. Leesh, you still want outfits?" I fought back the urge to snort. Of course she would.

As if to prove my point, she nodded her head wildly.

"You'll have to find masks, also." She said, knowing that Alicia already knew that.

"Of course."

"This was a great idea, thanks Kristen."

Kristen flushed at Massie's kind words, and mumbled a quiet and humble thank you. How she still managed to be so bashful after having _me_ as a friend was left up to _your_ imagination since _I_ had no idea.

I looked down at the notepad to see that Chris had written down in all capital letters, the word taking up two lines, CAVIAR. It was a good thing we rick kids all liked the same thing, because if he didn't have it on the paper, I would fight him tooth- and- nail to establish that there would indeed be caviar at the masquerade party.

I took the pen from his hand, and wrote down Champagne. If this party was going to be sophisticated and elegant, then we needed to have champagne. And if this was going to get busted up by the po- po, we at least wanted to have our fun. And maybe be drunk if i happened.

"What other foods are at a masquerade party?" Chris questioned me looking frustrated.

_**Paramore: For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic**_

"I honestly don't know. But that's what the internet is for, right?" I said with slight smile. I slid my LG Vue out of my pocket, and went to the browser. With light taps on the touch- screen, the words Food at a masquerade party, were in the search bar.

Chris and I waited a bit impatiently for the search results to come up. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Finally.

One hundred and twenty- seven thousand results. Oh joy.

I clicked on the first one I saw. It was a post saying that desserts would be your best way to go unless you were serving dinner. If you decided to serve dinner, chose pasta, or something expensive.

Well I think the party should be at night, so no dinner. But desserts? That was a great idea.

"Write down dessert." I told Chris.

He wrote it down on the paper, and I looked to see how much we had come up with. Fantastic. Three things. We needed more help. Maybe I would ask my mom about gourmet food. Yeah, that would help. Hopefully. But we would come up with something. As long as I was with Chris, we would have the best food at the party in the history of food.

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**It kind of cuts off there, but I had no other ideas. Ugh. I think I'm written out for a little bit. But I have a Civics rough draft due Monday. Great. Anyways, you probably don't want to hear my rants about school, so as my closing words, review and don't forget to vote on the poll. It's over Monday. And I posted pictures of what the characters look like on the profile.  
**


	14. Misplaced Fear, or not?

**Okay people, here's the next chapter. We are returning to some normalcy with Derrick's POV. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Clique.**

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_**Hawthorne Heights: Silver Bullet**_

I waited patiently for Claire to finish her breakfast and conversation with her parents. I didn't care if she took the entire day. I was so happy. Deliriously so. No, I don't think those words are strong enough to describe how I was feeling. I was ecstatically euphoric. I felt like a little kid waking up on Christmas morning to find not only a huge, thirteen foot evergreen tree in their living room, but also a huge sea of all the gifts the child could ever ask for, and a large white blanket of snow covering ever inch of the ground and ensuring that school would be closed for the next week. It was a bubble of happiness that wanted it's way out so badly. I just wanted to yell out in the fact that goddess divine, Claire Lyons- beautiful, sarcastic, adventurous, mysterious, and fantastic, Claire Lyons- wanted to be my wife in the future. That fact alone was enough to leave me smiling into the next decade. Maybe longer.

"Are you going to eat anything Derrick?" She said, looking up at me with her wide blue eyes radiating so much joy that I could practically taste it. She grabbed my hand, and slid her fingers through mine. There seemed to be a new spring in her step. Her eyes had lit up with the joy that had been missing for a long time. The joy that I had longed to see. Then there was the joy that I felt knowing that I had caused that happiness to come back. Me. Little Derrick Harrington. The boy whose father died, and his mother hated him. An orphan. Not someone who came from a perfect family like, Chris Plovert, but the broken boy who thought he would never amount to anything. That's right, me.

"I already ate." I said back to her, trying not to get lost in the orbs of magnificence.

"Claire, after everyone goes home, your father and I have something to tell you and your brother." Judi said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

I know how that felt.

"Can Derrick stay?" Claire asked, her grip on my hand tightening slightly.

"Sorry Claire bear, but Janet and Darrel have something to tell him also." Jay said, looking me in the eye.

Claire shrugged her shoulders daintily. "Okay dad. Come on Derrick, they're probably wondering where we are." Oh yeah, I forgot about the people upstairs. She tugged lightly on my hand, and like a golden retriever, I followed her. With the simple tug of a hand and she had me trailing after her.

As we climbed up the stairs, I had to fight the urge to scoop her up in my arms, and run away until Ethan, or anyone else endangering her life- I sincerely hoped there was no one else- was gone. But I knew I couldn't do that, so I worked with what I could do. I wrapped my arms around her, and she immediately melted into me. I could tell she was tired. My beautiful insomniac's eyes were getting worse. They were bloodshot, and the bags under her eyes were almost purple. I knew she was having nightmares. I didn't have to even be with her at night to know that. I mean come on, if you had a schizophrenic sociopath stalking your every move, wouldn't you have some trouble sleeping also?

We walked into the room and saw couples spread out everywhere. Alicia and Kemp were on the hard wood floor, leaning against the bed, Chris and Dylan had their backs against the new mini fridge, Massie and Josh were sitting in Claire's chaise, and Cam and Kristen were sitting in the middle of the floor.

Claire and I made our way back to the spot we were sitting in before the text, and I grabbed the notebook. Smiling, Claire almost instantly grabbed it out of my hands, along with the pen, and began writing down singers and bands. I looked over her shoulder as I made myself comfortable. In her small cursive, I saw:

Shiny Toy Guns: Le Disko  
Die Mannequin Die: Do it or Die  
Brittney Spears: Womanizer  
Brittney Spears: Circus  
Katy Perry: Hot n Cold  
Paramore: Born For This  
Paramore: Emergency  
Fall Out Boy: Dance, Dance  
Fall Out Boy: Dead on Arrival  
Taylor Swift: Love Story  
The Killers: Somebody Told Me  
The Cab: Bounce

Claire couldn't seem to think of any more, so I held my hand out to her as a signal for her to hand me the notebook and pen. She did, and I couldn't add a lot more, but I did add:

Muse: Super massive Black Hole  
The Killers: Smile Like You mean it

Claire seemed to have approved of my additions to the important list because she nodded her head. She nuzzled her petite body into my side and let out a deep sigh. I began to rub her back soothingly. The girl needed a lot of things, but the most prominent were rest and time to de -stress.

_**Silversun Pickups: Little Lover's So Polite**_

I was still trying to think of songs to write down. Looking around Claire's bedroom for inspiration, I saw that Kristen looked like she had an idea.

"Hey Mass," she started slowly, and waking up Claire.

"Yeah Kristen?" Massie asked, curiosity filling her voice.

"I just had a great idea." Kristen said this, and Claire looked up from my side.

"What is it?" Massie asked. I could tell that there was a little bit of jealousy in her voice.

"Instead of this being a normal party," Kristen waited to get everyones attention before she went on. "We throw a masquerade party." She finished with an almost conspiratorial look in her eye.

I vaguely heard Massie take in a quick gasp. Now she was probably thinking of all the possibilities.

Claire mistook her almost silence as a sign that she didn't like the idea because she quickly jumped in, "I remember in ninth you said that you always wanted to have one. This is the perfect opportunity." My love was right. This would be the perfect opportunity, and call me a pansy, but the idea seemed kind of fun.

"I like it Kristen. Leesh, you still want outfits?" Massie said in a voice that told me that she already knew the answer.

Alicia nodded her head furiously.

"You'll have to find masks also." She said, this time already knowing for sure that she would want the assignment. "This was a great idea Kristen, thanks." Massie said, surprising Claire by thanking Kristen.

Kristen looked down at her lap, going back to her shy self. She mumbled a quiet "thank you," and let her hair cover her face.

_**Third Eye Blind: Darkness**_

Think that the excitement was over, and Claire would want to doze again, I put my arm back around her, and she snuggled up against me, but didn't close her eyes again like I was expecting her to. It was like she was waiting for something. Maybe another text. Maybe something else. I had no idea, so I figured I would embrace the whole honesty that she had promised me, and I asked her.

"Is everything alright Claire?" I said, looking her in her eyes; searching for any insecurity. It seemed to be written on her face.

"I'm waiting for another text. I just have a feeling that something is going to happen." She told me with sad eyes.

"Claire, love, you can't spend this time just waiting for a text or something. I know we're not doing anything right now, but you can't let him control you." I told her sternly, but still with sympathy.

"I know, but it's difficult. Call it a girls intuition, but I _know_ something is going to happen. I just know it." She told me, still with her puppy- dog eyes.

I drew in a sigh. "You want me to be honest with you?" I asked her.

"That would be nice, yes." She told me, rolling her eyes.

"I'm worried that something will happen too. But let's not dwell on it. Just shove _him_ out of your mind and let's get cracking on the play list. We've got to make the music kick arse." I said, hoping that British slang would make her smile. It did.

"You're right. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Okay, we have to try to keep within these pathetic preppies music range." I chuckled at one, at the blunt way she said that, and two, how her attitude changed so quickly.

"So that 's, _One, Two, Step._"

"Most definitely."

We started to get a nice pace like this, going back and forth with artists and song names that we thought other people would like. You could lead a horse and all that jazz.

Claire was in the middle of suggesting a song, and suddenly, we heard the distinct ring of a gun being fired. Twice. Three times. Four. Then dead silence.

Claire and I both looked at each other with the same expression on our face, as everyone else in the room looked around with surprise, fear marring their faces. We all had the same thing running through our heads: Guns don't normally go off in Westchester County.

A few seconds later, we heard the noise that I had come to hate.

The Fray. Over My Head

_I never knew, I never knew that everything was falling through. _

_That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue, to turn and run when all I needed was a friend. _

_

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_**I figured that you all deserved a cliffy. Review guys! Can I have eight for this chapter? Hope you like it! Oh, and I told you Bailey that I would have it out this weekend. **


	15. Being in Love

**Hello wonderful readers and reviewers! I apologize greatly for missing the update last weekend. I had so much going on that I didn't have time. But you've probably heard all the excuses in the book and don't want to hear mine.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _the Clique_. **

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**_Taking Back Sunday: Timberwolves at New Jersey_**

Oh my God, he actaually did it. I began to reach for my phone, but a thought plagued my mind that instantaneously caused me to stop dead in my slow movements.

Todd was outside. Todd was a sophomore. Ethan _knew_ Todd was my brother.

The bastard seemed to want to do anything to hurt me. Even if it meant taking the life of the person who was second closest to me in the world. The life of the boy who had kept all of my secrets, even when he had gotten in trouble for what I had done. The life of the boy who had grown up with me and was my best friend at times when it seemed like I had none. The life of my best friend. The life of Todd.

My heard pounding, I sprang from my comfortable position in Derrick's warm, welcoming arms. I threw open the door with him and a few of the others at my feet. My parents were standing at the front door, looking out anxiously. Knowing Ethan's ways, he was already out of there. A hit-and-run only without a car.

"Where's Todd?" I questioned frantically.

My mom looked even more nervous than I was.

"He already left for Nathan's." My dad said greatfully.

My mom and I both let out a huge sigh of relief and Derrick came up behind me, lacing his arms through the one I had stationed on my hip. Pulling my arm out from his, I made my way to the front door.

"Where do you think you're going?" My dad and Derrick said almost siumltaneoulsy.

"To see if Eth- I mean whoever shot something is still there. We should get him and call the police." I said almost giving my secret away. That would not have been good.

**_Jason Mraz: Lucky_**

Kemp -I think- snorted behind me and I turned around to give him my signature glare.

He shrank back under the intensity, and seemed to realize my seriousness.

"Claire, the situation is being taken care of, see?" Massie said, pointing to the police cars driving past our house.

My parents turned around and went back to their mindless and monotonous watching of the TV. Massie, Dylan, and Kemp went back upstairs, but I stayed at the front door, anxiously staring out it while chewing my lip and nail. I was only vaguely hearing Derrick whisper in my ear. I took a deep, supposedly soothing breath and reached for my phone to see the text.

One new message: Ethan Bates

_That wasn't just one murder my precious Claire; it was three. Oh, I can see part of the obituary now. _

_Nineteen year old Skye Hamilton was on her way back from New York City to pick out a wedding dress for the love of her life. But she had one other surprise for him. She was pregnant with twins...._

_How sad. Not.  
_

_ Do you see it now Claire? You don't see it? Okay, here it goes. The ratio is one to three. For every person you tell, I take the lives of three innocent people. And unless you want Derrick to end up with a bullet through his head, I suggest you don't tell anyone else. But it is up to you._

_Love, Ethan  
_

My breakfast rose in my throat and I struggled to keep from spewing everywhere. I was a murderer. Even if it was indirectly, I killed someone. Not just someone, three someones. Oh my God, I killed two unborn children. I deserved to rot in hell. Bloodshed was on my hands, because I was stressed, and _weak_.

_**Paramore: Let The Flames Begin**_

"It's okay." Derrick whispered to me in a calming voice after reading over my shoulder. I saw him take in a deep breath to get his emotions under control before continuing. "Remember Claire, you did _not_ hurt her. It was all him."

"I indirectly killed three human beings Derrick! I indirectly committed murder! Oh my God, I'm just as bad as Bob Ewell from To Kill a Mockingbird!" I cried making a literary reference to my favorite book.

"Are you racist? Did you tell lies? Did you promise to tell the truth under oath, and then not?" Derrick said sternly, bringing out arguments that I could not go against.

"No but-" I started uselessly. Did I normally bring out points that would hurt myself? Was I normally this masochistic?

"But nothing Claire. You are not like Bob Ewell, and you did not kill them." Derrick said staring me in the eye. "What will it take for me to convince you? Would I lie to you?" He asked, sounding hurt. He made it sound like it was his entire goal in life was to make me sure of myself. Like he really did want to have me see myself as a good person. "Sunday, we're going out, okay? Just to get away from everything. And you're leaving your cell phone at home." Derrick told me. He and I both knew that I needed relaxation time desperately.

I nodded to him and he silently kissing my tears away. I was in so much distress, I hadn't even realized I had been crying. He took my phone and even though he slipped it into the front pocket of my jeans, I knew he was debating breaking it in half.

"Let's go Claire. I'm sure Massie wants to approve everyone's hard work." He grabbed my hand and for the second time that day, I felt a happiness, but a subtle dread as we climbed the stairs.

"Is everyone finished?" Massie asked as we walked into my room. Everyone nodded at different times, and Massie looked pleased.

We went through the process of everyone showing what they had thought of. Lost in my thoughts, I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking of Skye's fiancé. He lived in Westchester, and was an extremely nice guy. He had just turned CEO of some big business and was extremely excited for the wedding. Poor guy. I felt sorry for him. He didn't deserve the heartache of losing the most beloved person in his life. And Skye and her unborn children certainly didn't deserve the death that was forced upon them.

_**Avril Lavigne: Don't Tell Me**_

It came to Derrick's turn to show everyone the songs that we had come up with. I loved everything about him. The way his posture was perfect but it didn't give off the superior vibe that other people displayed when they held their head high. He held his head in a way that would look everyone in the eye. He had nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing that he was scared of. He was perfect. His amazing hair was messily finger- brushed. Due to our quick wakeup this morning, he didn't have time to comb it. It's coloring was a beautiful caramel color and was slightly shiny. It wasn't a greasy kind of shiny but just sort of reflective. Then there was his chiseled jaw and angled cheek bones. They led a trail right past his eyes and were clearly defined. His chin ended in a soft point and looked almost like the way Leighton Meester's chin was, only slighter. His eyes were his best -and my favorite- feature. They matched his hair almost perfectly. They were like a round crystal ball filled with Hershey chocolate. If you looked deep enough, you might see through him. Right to his soul, maybe even farther.

I was rudely interrupted by Massie's demanding voice. "I'll get Landon to make the invitations and have them delivered to you guys -Cam and Kristen- tomorrow morning."

After all these years, Landon Dorsey was Massie's favorite party planner. She had done Christmas parties, Bah Mitzvahs, and the occasional pre and post prom bash. She was a household name now for anyone who was anyone. She was famous for her skill and incredibly high prices. But who cared about that, right?

"Nice choice on the songs Claire. I haven't heard most of them, but I can trust you, right?" She asked me suspiciously raising one perfect eyebrow.

I smirked. "Of course Mass. All the songs are "party appropriate." I said, putting air-quotes on the last two words.

"Good." Massie said, nodding at me.

"Claire, Daniel and Hunter are here. It's time for everyone to go home" My mom's voice floated up the stairs, referring to Chris's and Alicia's drivers.

The two couples stood up, stretched, grabbed their stuff and with hugs and knuckle-slams, made their way out the door. Kristen and Cam stood up and he grabbed both of their bags. Kristen had recently moved around the corner from Massie and I so they would always walk back to her house, hand- in- hand. It was adorable.

"See ya later guys." I said hugging both of them.

"Did he ask you?" Cam asked me after I pulled away.

I blushed happily and Cam smiled greatly. Cam was Derrick's best friend. Of course he would tell him.

"Congratulations Claire." He whispered in my ear. Slipping Kristen's fingers through his, he adjusted the straps and made their way out the door along with Josh and Massie. When I heard the front door shut, I turned to Derrick.

_**Panic at the Disco: I Constantly Thank God for Esteban**_

"Are you positive you have to leave?" I asked, trying to widen my eyes to the look that I knew he couldn't resist,

"Sorry love, but it is your parents orders, and I would rather stay on their good side." He told me, kissing me on the forehead softly.

"I guess." I grumbled stubbornly. I really didn't want him to leave.

"Django is here." My mom yelled up the stairs, this time talking about Derrick's family driver.

"By Clairebear." He said as he grabbed his bag and gave me a hug. Our good byes normally were not this dramatic, but I think we were both afraid that this would be the last time we would see each other. Even though we both knew better, there was that lingering fear that claimed our hearts as theirs.

"Bye D." I said, flipping back against my comforter. When he left, I shut my eyes, hoping that when I opened them all the stress would be gone.

Open.

Nope.

It was still there. Looming over my head like a black rain cloud. I was waiting for the lightning to strike me dead.

"Claire?" My mom's voice called to me from my doorway.

"Yeah Mom?" I asked, opening my eyes again for the second try. Nope.

"Your brother is home and your father and I wanted to talk to you two."

"Okay mom." I said sliding off my indented comforter to follow my mom down the stairs to where I would have to keep up the charade. Oh joy.

FST/FST/FST/FST/FST

When my parents told us that they were going on vacation with all the other parents in our tight knit group, Todd was even more excited than I was yesterday when I found out. But that could have been because he was getting to spend the weekend at big Nathan's. Yup, that's right, big Nathan. During is eighth grade year, Nathan had a growth spurt. A huge growth spurt. His tiny five foot frame and ninety- eight pound body were long gone and replaced with a six foot two, and one hundred fifty five pound line- backer's on the football team. Yeah, that's right.

I acted surprised and happy. I was deep down, but knowing that you indirectly murdered someone can put a damper on any feelings other than guilt.

It was around three P.M. and I decided to get lunch and start my homework. I quickly made a ham and ranch dressing sandwich, grabbed a can of Pepsi and went up to my room. I had a test in Health that needed studying for, a research paper in World History that needed typing, and thirty problems in a Calculus book that needed to be done. Oh happy days are here again.

_**The Killers: When You Were Young**_

Half an hour later and I was done with the research paper. I started the Calculus homework and struggled with it. I had always been awful with math and sucked even greater with Calc. Hm, maybe I should call Derrick. He know Calculus and was fantastic at it. But then again, Derrick was amazing at everything.

"Hey, you've reached Derrick's cell phone. If you don't know what to do by now, I have no idea why you're calling."

-beep-

I sighed into the mouth piece. Even his voice message reduced me to a pile of dust.

"Umm... hey Derrick. I was calling to see of you could help me with a couple Calc problems. And I guess just to talk. Call me back, love you, bye." I finished lamely.

Well I guess I'll just have to muddle through it. But, for the time being, I needed to get lost in some music. I pressed the button on my stereo and the hit music station's beat reverberated through my large room.

I began to work on the problems and figured out most of them. One I was completely stumped on and would let Derrick explain it to me tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

He sounded like he had something planned when he said that we were going out on Sunday. I wondered where he would take me, what we would do, and what kind of music would be involved. There was always music on our dates. Always. When he first asked me out, we were in the band concert hall, listening to Layne play "Flight of the Bumblebee", on the trumpet. On our first date, "First Date", by Blink 182 was in the background and that had made me laugh. I had recently saw the video and thought it was hilarious. I was picturing Derrick in all the situations that the three had gotten into and when I told him. We both had a good laugh over it. Music was the main thing in our relationship. We bonded closer and argued over it. It was a glue that we needed when were both feeling out of sorts with the world. On the anniversary of his father's death, he taught me to play the guitar. I can't count the times he's sang to me.

I remember when I was young, Todd and I were hanging out at the beach in Orlando, and I told him the most romantic thing a guy could do for me, was sing to me. Derrick had filled my happiness quota so many times, that I was head over heels in love with him in the third month of us dating. You normally don't fall in love so quicky when you're young, but I was always ahead of the crowd.

This was one thing that I was glad I was a fast bloomer for. Because really, who wants to fall in love so late in their life that they've already been jaded by so many previous relationships that didn't work out? Definitely not me. And apparently, not Derrick either. That was one of the things that I enjoyed so much about him. Is it really healthy to love this hard? To be so enthralled with one person that nothing someone else could do would break that bond? These were the questions that I started asking myself. Then I got the answer: I didn't care. I didn't care if it was health or not. If it was stupid and reckless and irresponsible of me. I didn't care. And that's what being in love was all about.

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** So was it good? Was it worth the wait? These are the questions I ponder. And oh my God, you guys are amazing. Fifteen reviews! FIFTEEN! So, I want to give a shout out to:**

**Dr. Pepper Rocks My Socks**

**Sink Ur Teeth In**

**Jane**

**Emeraldeyes101**

**Bailz**

**Humathepuma**

**Unknownballer**

**Twilighteroxuresox**

**Jolicaalltheway**

**February 13**

**applejuicegirl**

**ahhhscreaming4noreason**

**and**

**The Whale**

**Thanks so much you guys! Can we get the same amount for this chapter? More? It's up to you.  
**


	16. Surprise Sunrise

**Hello people! Thanks for the ten reviews guys! I have a question. Would you review more or less if I took away anonymous reviews? Answer if you chose in a review. Thanks. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Clique. **

**

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**Chapter 16

Surprise Sunrise

_**The Beatles: Yesterday**_

After losing almost two hours of sleep every night for the past two weeks, I was out like a blown lightbulb. I had fallen asleep at ten and was still dreaming until my phone started singing. At first, I thought I was still dreaming, but as I reached for my enV, I tumbled out of the bed. Yup, I was definitely awake.

_This is me with the world on the tip of my tongue_  
_And my eye on the scope down the barrel of a gun. _

_This is you trying hard to be sure that you're seen  
With the girl on your arm and your heart on your sleeve. _

Taking Back Sunday continued to serenade me until I painfully reached my arm to my night stand, looked at the name flashing across the screen, and clicked the green button.

"Derrick, what the hell are you doing, waking me up at five in the morning?" I demanded brutally. I didn't care if it was Derrick, and my sort of fiancee, he was a person who woke me up before ten on a weekend. He was going to pay.

He chuckeled light heartedly and responded in a way that was way to perky for this early in the morning. "Trust me love, it's worth it. Be ready at five fourty-five." He said cryptically before hanging up.

I slid my phone closed and growled as if Derrick could hear me. This better be worth it, I thought as I climbed out of bed. I had fourty-five minutes to take a shower, and get changed. Unlike Massie and the rest of the girls, it didn't take me two hours to shower, change, and put on makeup. It really only took me thirty minutes.

I undressed and got into the shower. Drinking in the steam, all of the kinks that had seeped into my muscles were unraveled like the knows in a shoelace. I quickly scrubbed my body and hair, and turned the water off.

Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel off the shelf and rubbed a little bit of moisturizer on my elbows, knees, and cheeks. I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom to get dressed. I pulled on a blue pair of underwear, and a black bra. Today, I wasn't going for sexy; I could care less about that. I was going for the comfortable look and if Derrick didn't like it, he could shove it. I quickly stepped into a black pair of skinny jeans and a forest green v-neck shirt over my head. I traced a hint of black eyeliner over my eyelids and some cherry Chapstik over my lips.

I figured that I should probably leave my parents a note so they don't freak out like last time. Derrick was known for waking up early and taking me out on little rendevous in the early morning. It was extremely sweet and I loved almsot everything about it, but I hated waking up early.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the shelf that we keep all the nonsensical things.

_**Backstreet Boys: When She Smiles (that's right, backstreet boys)**_

_Mom and Dad, _

_I'm out with Derrick. Call my cell if you need anything. _

_Love, Claire_

I looked over at the digital clock my father installed almost two months ago. It was five fourty-five and I could faintly hear the quite purr of Derrick's car engine being turned off in the driveway. Knowing him, he would still try to be a gentleman and come to the door to get me. If we were trying to go undetected by my parents, that was not going to be a good idea.

Grabbing my purse and shoving my iPod, cell phone and other necessities into it, I opened the door silently slipping out to the cool air of a March morning.

Derrick was leaning up against his car looking more god-like than the Almighty himself. His Vanquish gleamed like it had been by the Wax-n-Wash on Birch and fifth. He was wearing a pair of black Diesel jeans and a black and silver The Strokes shirt. "Hey babe." He told me, giving me a peck on my sufficently cherry chapstiked lips.

"Hey Derrick." I mumbled. I didn't have any coffee this morning, so I was only have awake. He chuckeled at my stupor.

Always the gentleman, Derrick grabbed my hand and led me to the passenger side of the nice car. He opened the door and I slid into the car vehicle with a wondering look in my eye and a confused expression on my face. It was still relatively dark out. Where in the world were we going to go? "Derrick," I said as he slid into the car and picked Howie Day to listen to for the ride.

"Yes, Claire?" He questioned with a smirk on his face and a cocky eyebrow raised. He already knew my question.

"Where are we going?" I asked him suspiciously.

His smirk grew bigger until it was a full blown smile. "That's for me to know and you to find out when we get there."

_The dawn is breaking.  
A light shining thorugh.  
You're barely waking,  
And I'm tangled up in you._

In the warm car with Derrick gripping my hand, I felt loved. Wanted. Special. Even though I had family and friends who made me feel like this everyday, I didn't really realzie it until I fell in love with Derrick. His admiration for me was really unfathomable. I was imperfect. I had made countless mistakes in my life. What did I do to deserve him? To deserve this?

_**Howie Day: Collide**_

Five songs, three left turns, and two hang squeezes later, I felt the car turn into a small gravel square and I looked around. We were facing a small field. It resembled an old horse pasture with its wooden rails and overgrown grass. Some weeds had began to cover over bare spots and a small water trough was in the distance. The sun hadn't began to rise yet, so the sky was a beautiful bluish green color. There was a light fog that hung and touched everything, yet covored nothing. It was like the scene in _Pride and Prejudice_ where Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth met early in the morning, only no sun. "Derrick-" I started, but he quickly quieted me by putting his lips against mine.

"Shh." He mumbled. "Don't say anything until you see it." He told me. Pulling away, I could see a smile growing on his face, and I could tell that this place was important for him.

I nodded and he whispered a soft "thank you," in my ear. His minty hot breath teased my senses and I shivered, but no way in heck wasI cold.

He checked his watch adn looked up at the sky. "We have to hurry." He muttered, unbuckling his seat belt quickly. I followed his actions and popped open the door to be greeted by a gush of cold air and Derrick's hand. Grabbing it, he pulled me out of the seat and I noticed that he had a small picnic basket. Thank God. Hopefully he had coffee.

"Over here." He pointed to a medium sized hill where the grass was tall and dew played on every blade.

We made our way up the hill. Even though he seemed like he was in a hurry, we still connected ourselvs by holding hands.

When we got to a flat part at the top of the, Derrick kneeled down and pulled out a large, thick wool blanket for us to sit on. I plopped down, thankful for the rest after the hike. Derrick continued to pull out a set of battery operated speakers, his iPod, and a jacket for himself. What else would he take out of the magicians cap?

He took a deep sigh, greatful for something and finally turned to look at me. "_Now_ look." He commanded, a youthful smile tugging at his lips. I turned my head from him to see that our position on the hill put us at the perfect angle with the horizon. We overlooked the grass, the old water traugh- everything. It seemed like all living organisms had been decreased in size and magnified intensely at the same time. "Now watch." He instructed me and pointed straight ahead of us.

As my eyes followed his fingers, the sun -brilliant, gorgeous, and flaming- erupted from the clouds everything stopped. Everything halted as colors reached their crecendo, their climax. Pinks, oranges, yellows, and the occasional red exploded in front of us and we sat there soaking up its magnificence. Basking in the beautiful exeuberance of something so simple, it was truly admirable.

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**I am really sorry if this has any typos or grammar mistakes. My parents are going Nazi on me and making me turn the computer off, so I didn't have a chance to proofread any of this chapter. Regardless, review!**


	17. Culture Day

**I'm sorry for the lack of updates guys. My life has recently turned to hell and my mind the same. Things aren't back to normal yet, but hopefully they will be soon. I was hit with a severe case of writers block for this chapter. Then everything in my daily schedule burst into flames. I even considered putting this story on hiatus. Here's a satisfactory (hopefully) chapter for you. There's a glossary of the things Derrick says in French at the bottom of the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Clique.**

_**PlusMinus: I Sleep Forever**_

"Derrick, this place is amazing." Claire told me as I pulled out three Tupperware containers.

This day was all I could come up with within twenty-four hours, but I think I did a pretty good job. "I've been coming to this place for a while. Darrel showed it to me. I like to come here to think. There's something about being up here that makes you feel so peaceful. I love it here." I finished, remembering that day three years ago. It had been almost a week after Janet and Darrel had adopted me. He and I were working on our 'fatherly bond.' Darrel told me that this place had been a part of the original family property. His ancestors lived in Westchester when the town was founded and were the richest people there. He didn't say it in a bragging voice, but rather in a way that told me he was proud of the accomplishment. "Bon appetit ma dame." I whispered with my lips at her ear in a way that I hoped would be sensual without seeming horny.

She shivered as I achieved my goal. I smiled to myself and reached for the lids that covered our breakfast. 'Today, is a culture day. We have pancakes -American-, Belgian Waffles -Belgium-, and scones with preserves, which is jam -straight from England-, and," I paused as I pulled out two thermoses three fourths of the way filled with a sweet Spanish drink. "Sangria from Spain." I said quickly unscrewing the lids to show Claire her favorite drink that wasn't soda.

"It all looks delicious, Derrick. Did you make it all by yourself?" She teased with a smirk covering the bottom half of her face. She knew my cooking habits. I wouldn't let anyone else into the kitchen when I was concocting something. Janet and Darrel had to wait until nine o' clock to have dinner last night.

"I did." I said simply as she bit into the waffle. Her mouth closed around the food and her head tilted back. Through her closed lids, I could see her eyes roll to the back of their sockets.

I snickered quietly. I took great pride in my ability to cook. In college my father minored in cooking. It came as naturally to ham as a girl with incredibly long fingers playing the piano, or a freakishly tall boy swishing a basketball through a hoop. He had taught me to cook while we were in London, and had quickly found that I had picked up the gene from him. It was a very good thing that I did. For a little while after my dad's death, my mom wouldn't do anything but eat and sleep. She wouldn't clean, she wouldn't work, and she didn't cook. I had to do the things that my father did, and the things that my mother did also.

_**The Raconteurs: Steady as She Goes**_

I don't hold a grudge against my mother for tow reasons. One, I don't think I would be the same person sitting here today if I wasn't forced to pick up the slack and clean up my act.

When we lived in Westchester, I was very immature. I would pull my pants down for attention and laughs, and I would only wear shorts for the longest time. The conversations I had were strictly based on soccer, video games, food, or "hot babes." After we moved to England and to New York, I had to get a part-time job to provide for my mom and I. I had to clean, do the laundry, pay the bills, and cook. Everything. I was abruptly torn from what was supposed to be the young and free years of my life and deposited into the land of \struggles and worries. The years adults and maturity.

Even though my life isn't like that now, there are some lasting effects. Now, I thought before I acted and actually took responsibility around the house. Three years later and I was still having a difficult time not doing everything for everyone and being in control all of the time.

The second reason, was Claire. I loved everything about her. From the top of her straight blonde head to the tips of her constantly painted sea-green toe nails, and all the things in between. From her abundance of enthusiasm to her zeal for everything around her. Claire was the salt to my French fries, or the sugar in coffee; an additive that first is something that you want, but over time becomes a necessity.

"Will you talk to me in French for a while so we can add another country to our list?" Claire asked taking a sip of Sangria. She had effectively snapped me out of my reverie and now I promised myself that that the focus would be entirely on Claire.

"Bien sur que oui mon amour." I told her causing a grin to light up her face.

"Merci bocoup monsieur." She said clueing me in on the limited French that she knew.

"Votre accueil ma fille. Je voudrais saisir le monde pour vous." I told her with a light smile.

"I think you should teach cooking classes." She whispered like it was the biggest secret in the world.

"Vraiment?" I asked her. I had thought about doing something like that for a while, but I doubted that a lot of people would take cooking lessons from an eighteen year old. With someone else saying this though, it seemed possible.

_**Mates of State: La'hov**_

"Umm, I'm going to take a guess and say that means 'really?'" She guessed correctly with a clueless look on her face.

"Oui," I replied, slowly chewing my scone. Maybe I would sign up. "I think I will." I said switching back to English.

Claire looked happy when I told her this. "Good, because I've always wanted to brag to Massie and the rest of the girls that I had a chef for a boyfriend. Oh, and I wouldn't want you not living up to your potential." She finished with a wink.

Chuckling, I responded by saying, "Hmm, yes, all that potential going to waste on my girl."

"Well I don't think it's a waste." She said while purposefully applying preserves to her scone, then taking a bite.

Pulling her close to me, I wrapped her in my arms and my fingers brushed her angelic lips to get the crumbs off of them before placing a light kiss on them. "Nope, not a waste at all." I agreed while dropping another kiss to her forehead.

She snuggled into my arms and released a tired sigh. I let out a contented one. I was by no means happy with the situation Claire and I -mainly Claire- was in. The person that would be satisfied with it was a psychopathic killer after them belonged in an insane asylum. No, I was content with Claire right here, in my arms.

"I love you." She whispered and closed her eyes. I grabbed a light blanket from the whicker basket and laid us down. I settled the blanket on top of us as she snuggled closer to me.

"I love you too Claire." I said almost inaudibly into the dewy morning air and closed my eyes to meet her in the land of dreams.

**Okay guys. It was a short chapter, I know. I didn't have that mush time to work on it and I knew that some people were getting impatient. I was truly trying to get this out to you on time, but it didn't get out that way. I'll try to update as soon as I can with the next chapter. Here's a glossary of all of the things that Derrick said in French**

**Bien sur que oui mon amour: Of course love**

**Merci bocoup monsieur: Thank you very much sir**

**Votre accueil ma fille. Je voudrais saisir le monde pour vous: You're welcome my girl. I would capture the world for you.**

**Vraiment: Really**

**Oui: Yes**

**Read and review. **


	18. Not so Inviting Dreams

**Hello wonderful readers, people, aliens, and gorgons. (We're studying mythology in English right now.) Here is the next installment of Forever Starts Tonight. Please keep all hands, feet, and other appendages inside at all times, and enjoy the ride. Oh, and Monster energy drink tastes like crap, but it's oh so addicting. Oh, and one more thing, I swear. SAY HELLO TO MY NEW BETA, KELSEY GOODE!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. I have not, nor will I ever own the Clique. If I did, there would be a lot of changes.**

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**_Panic at the Disco: London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines_**

Waking Derrick up out of his deep sleep was a feat more difficult than I had expected. It took at least five minutes for him to make a sound and even then, it was unintelligible grumbles and groans.

"Derrick, come on. Massie just called me. Apparently, she dropped off the invitations in my room with our share of the guest list. She's instructing us to type out all of the names and the rest of the 'necessary information and then glue them onto the masks." I told him as his eyebrows scrunched together in what I thought was a response to me telling him what Massie wanted us to do.

"Sick bastard!" He cursed loudly and in a way that shocked me. Derrick rarely ever used swear used other than hell and damn. It was me who was the one who swore like a sailor in the relationship. Normally, I would applaud his use of vulgarity, but to be saying it about my best friend…

_The Honorary Title: Thin Layers_

"Derrick, I don't like the assignment any more than you do, but that's no reason to call Massie a bastard." I said harshly, trying to defend my friend while incessantly tapping him on the shoulder.

It wasn't until he flipped over that I could really see his face. His forehead was dripping with sweat. His mouth was pulled into a tight line and his lips were trembling. His eyebrows were furrowed into two harsh slants.

I then realized that he was having a bad dream. Before it got any worse, I attempted to wake him up.

"Derrick, come on. Wake up." I insisted quickly and vehemently as he started taking gasps of air. "Derrick, babe, _please_ wake up. It's all a bad dream, Derrick. _Wake up."_ I pleaded as his eyes shot open.

"Claire?" He questioned, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Suddenly, his arms were surrounding me in the fiercest hug I had ever received. "Oh thank God, Claire. Thank God." He continued on, placing reverent kisses on my collar bone, up my neck and everywhere on my face.

**_Jack's Mannequin: Bloodshot_**

"That must have been one hell of a dream." I stated in the manner of someone discussing the weather.

He gave one simple shudder and closed his eyes tight as if he was reliving it all over again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked even though I knew what the answer would be.

"No." He said firmly.

"Did you hear what I said about Massie and the invites?" I asked him, my nerves still shot.

"Vaguely." He replied, his voice unsteady.

"Well, Massie wants us to write the names on the envelopes so we can put them in lockers tomorrow." I said trying to hide the curiosity in my voice. What could that dream have been about?

"Alright. Do you know what time it is?" He asked trying to clear his mind.

I felt around for my cell phone in my purse. As my sweaty hand came in contact with the smooth plastic, my heart rate picked up. What if I had gotten a text from _him_? On the other hand, what if I hadn't? Would I be worried about what he was doing or planning? He sent me one to two texts each day. What would it signify if he didn't send me any today?

Thinking all of these things, my anxiety combined with my nerves and I quickly pulled my phone out to check.

No messages. The phone's screen was as clear as ever aside from the Raconteurs wall paper that I had downloaded a month ago.

_**The Ramones: Crusher**_

Thank God.

"It's 2:37." I told him a bit shocked. Normally I didn't sleep for that long, but with Derrick holding me, I had slept for eight hours.

"Do you want to go back now?" He asked me. Earlier today, he told me that today was all about me. He would go with my decision no matter what. If I said that I wanted to castrate him -never will I want that- he would go with it. Derrick didn't know it, but I knew a little bit of French. Enough to know that he was so totally whipped. Not that I minded.

"We probably should." I said a tad begrudgingly. I knew that if we didn't complete the assignment at hand, Massie would be pissed. Very pissed.

"Alright." He whispered, still a little out of it. What in the world could the nightmare have been about? Could it have been about our friends? Me? Ethan? Me _and_ Ethan?

I tried to push the errant thoughts away as I helped Derrick by folding the blankets into fourths. He sat next to the picnic basket, his legs folded underneath him. His fingers shook as he pushed the lids into the containers and twisted the caps onto the thermoses.

Should I ask again? Would it help if I did? Or would it bring the dream back to the surface of where he was trying to stuff it and disturb him even more?

"You done?" He asked as he waited for me to put the blankets in the basket.

_**Dashboard Confessional: The Secret's in the Telling**_

"Um, yeah." I said, easing my contemplations into the back of my mind.

He nodded and roughly shoved the blankets in. "Let's get to those damned invitations." He grumbled as we stood up, the unused speakers clacking loudly in the basket.

When we were both up, Derrick grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together in a grip that could rival a boa constrictor's. We walked to the car in silence, his dream -well, rather nightmare- hanging over our heads like a hurricane. Right now, it wasn't something that I could easily ignore, but from my very limited knowledge about the subject, I could tell it was something we needed to get away from.

When we got into the car, it was almost silent between us. The only thing that provided us small amounts of conversation was the music, and even that took a backseat to the silence. Even though it was half awkward, and half comfortable, my mind was not at ease and the dream was still so fresh in his. My hand stayed placed in his warm, tight grip and I kept getting the feeling that the nightmare had to do with me.

We quickly made the trip back to my house, and from the window, I could see my parents eating a late lunch.

_**Interpol: Narc**_

"Hey Mom, Dad. What's wrong?" I asked when we walked into the dining room hand-in-hand and saw their troubled faces.

"Your mother is worried about leaving you home alone with the murder so close to the house." My dad told me. "It was on the ten O' clock news this morning. Do you remember Skye Hamilton?" My dad questioned nervously.

"Oh Jay, don't trouble her with this. And you don't want to leave her home alone any more than I do." Mom ratted my dad out.

He blushed, his cool dad act being busted. "Well of course I don't. Claire, it's not as if we don't think you're old enough for this, but think about it this way," he read my face and point out, "you're my young, gorgeous daughter. If something happened at the house…" He trailed off possibly meaning to insinuate something, or that he saw the expression on my face. "Surely you can understand, Derrick." My dad turned to my boyfriend.

"Of course I can, Jay. Claire, your dad's worried that if something were to happen here or close to here and the person broke into the house, what would happen to you." Derrick explained to me and I relished in the sound of his voice. That was the most he had spoken all morning. "Now that you mention it, Jay, I'm a bit worried too. I'm sure Janet and Darrel wouldn't mind if she stayed at our house for the weekend; that is, if you want to, Claire, and if you two would approve of it." He said a bit too quickly and looked down at me.

My face lit up when I thought of spending the weekend with Derrick. There was no question as to whether or not I would want to. The only question was, could I go earlier than Friday?

My parents seemed to ponder the proposed idea for a little bit before they turned to each other and had a silent conversation. My mom turned to us and said, "Yes, that's fine, but we'd like it if you two stayed in separate rooms."

Derrick nodded, "Of course."

With that being the final word, I wrapped my dad into a hug and told him thank you before doing the same with my mom. This was the first time they had let me spend the night at Derrick's house. I was glad that they trusted me enough -even though I knew Derrick would totally pull an Edward Cullen and sneak into my room- to let me do this. We only had to convince Janet and Darrel.

_**The Beatles: Eleanor Rigby** _

/*/*/*

Asking Derrick's adoptive parents wasn't that difficult. The conversation basically consisted of "Hey, Mom, can Claire spend the weekend with me while you guys are out of town? Her parents don't want her home alone with the killing so close."

I had a new found love for his parents. They said yes almost immediately.

After we talked to them, the palpable tension seemed to lighten from having to cut it with saw to being able to slice it with a butter knife. Derrick's shoulders loosened up a bit and he was very relaxed. It was almost five and I knew that had to go at six thirty, but if he thought he was getting away without doing any work, he was horribly mistaken.

"We should probably," -kiss- "start" -kiss- "on the" -kiss- "invites" -groan.

"Do we have too?" He asked me with his adorable puppy-dog eyes and signature pout.

"Would you like to tell Massie that we didn't do anything and face her wrath?" I asked him. If he did, he would brave the elements alone. I loved him to death, but Massie scared the crap out of me. Especially when she was angry.

After almost a minute with a contemplative look on his face, he finally responded. "No, not really."

"Then let's get started."

We headed over to my desk and quickly made work of typing up the names, and other important stuff. Derrick and I both chuckled at quite a few names on the list even though we only had thirty. I had no idea how Massie had come up with so many people to invite over night. She probably worked Josh like a dog, looking through old yearbooks.

Throughout our time slaving away over the computer and superglue, Derrick's face grew tenser. I was worried that he was recalling the nightmare for some strange reason, and then he said to me, "Do you still want to know what my dream was about?"

**

* * *

**

**OOOH. Does anyone know? Does anyone think they have a clue? Does anyone want cake? Just kidding about the last part. If you think you know what Derrick's dream was about, review. If you have no idea what Derrick's dream was about, review. If you want cake like a grossly obese kid, review. Oh, and thanks for the four reviews last chapter. We're at 150!**


	19. Too lazy to come up with a chapter title

**Hello! I would have had this updated over the weekend, but I left my notebook at school. It was a sad time. Anyway, this chapter is not beta-ed. I'm sorry. I had no patience and I wanted to tell Bailey in an email that I updated. Hello, Bailey. Oh, and before I forget, Seemingly Angelic guessed the nightmare almost perfectly. Congratulations. Now, on with the story. **

**Disclaimer: No, I still do not own the Clique, so stop asking!**

_**12:51: The Strokes**_

"Do you still want to know about my dream?" I asked Claire slowly and with a slight tremor in my voice. I knew from experiences that I wouldn't be able to get past whatever was bothering me unless I talked about it with someone. I couldn't tell anyone else about it but because no one else knew about Ethan. I would give her the edited version of the dream, though, because the real one was a bit too much to handle.

She kept quiet in waiting, as she always did when I was going to tell her something important. "It was the night of the party. We -you and I- decided to go outside to get some fresh air. Massie has set up the outside with old twinkle lights that wrapped around the driveway, the front of the house and then they stopped half way to you house.

"We'd decided to go to the hammock that you and Massie sat up to mark the end of the Block's property and beginning of yours. We started walking and you began to say that you had heard a very faint swishing noise. I had told you that," I stammered, my voice coming in quicker gasps. "I said that it was nothing and to ignore it." I shut my eyes as Claire sat down in my lap and my arms reflexively wrapped around her.

"We strolled over to the hammock and when we got settled in, I wrapped my arms around you and you began to fall sleep. Then suddenly, _he_ was there, standing right over us and you were in his arms. Then he killed you." I concluded quickly, skipping over certain information like how he slit her throat and as the blood was spurting out, she opened her eyes and said, "I told you I heard something. It's all you fault."

Those details were too gruesome. For anyone.

_**Jesse McCartney: Beautiful Soul**_

"I promise you, Derrick," she whispered to my ear in a calming way. "I _promise_, that will not ever happen." She sighed quietly as my grip tightened on her small body.

"But that's the thing, Claire," I tried not to groan as she looked up at me with wide, teary eyes, "we don't know what's going to happen. You cannot predict the future. You don't know Ethan; no body does. And that's what scares the _shit_ out of me." I said passionately, trying to make her see my view on the matter.

"I understand, Derrick. I really do." She drew in a shaky breath. "I just… I knew I shouldn't have told you." She looked down, obviously bracing herself for my reaction.

"Don't say that, Claire. You know you couldn't have handled it by yourself."

She looked up at me suddenly, with a fire burning in her eyes, thinking that the last thing I said was an insult. "What do you mean by that? I was handling it just fine before I told you anything."

"No, Claire, I didn't mean that as an insult. I was saying it as a fact; no one could handle a problem like this alone, love." I said gently, trying to coax her out of her rage.

_**The Used: Maybe Moments**_

She took a deep breath. "I know, I'm sorry. I think I'm at my wits end with all this shit. I just want it all to be over with. I really want to go to the police, but there's something that's keeping me from turning him in." She complained in frustration.

"You'll figure it out. And if not, two heads are always better than one." I reminded her, pressing our hands together and locking them. If only it could be for forever. I didn't want to let her out of my sight. Fortunately, this weekend I wasn't going too. My dream was the main reason I wanted Claire to be with me. The other, was the fact that I just wanted her to be near me. Even without this crap going on.

"Oh crap, you've got to go." She said after she saw the time on her laptop. I glared at the white numbers. I really didn't want to leave.

"You're right. I might call you later tonight. Love you." I gave her a parting kiss on the lips.

"Love you too." She responded and gave me a hug. I could tell she was stressed out. Her muscles were pulled taut and the way she crushed herself to me was a large indicator.

I completed the action before pulling away. Walking down the stairs, I said good-bye to Jay and Judi before making my way out to my car.

I drove mindlessly for about a half an hour until I reached my house.

"Honey, you're home." Janet exclaimed as I stepped into the doorway and slipped my shoes off. She wrapped me in a hug and I immediately reciprocated.

With Janet, you couldn't help but feel comfortable. She was the mom I never had and the friend that would always listen to me, no matter what happened or what I told her.

_**Shiny Toy Guns: Le Disko**_

"How are you, Janet?" I asked. Pulling back, I saw small specks of white flour strung throughout her mid-length black hair. The skin under her vibrant blue eyes had the shapes of finger prints from putting them in some kind of whipped topping and then subconsciously rubbing her eyes.

"Derrick, is that you dough boy? I sure as hell hope so, because we could use some help in here." Darrel's deep voice resounded through the large house from where he was standing in the kitchen, I presumed.

"I can tell, Darrel." I said back to the voice and walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"Oh, don't get smart-ass with me, boy. Get over here and give me a hug." Darrel commanded as I turned the corner into the well-lit room. They were acting as if I had been gone for seven years and not eleven hours. The murder must have really shaken them up.

"I leave you two home alone for a half a day, and you almost burn down the house?" I said incredulously. I knew that they couldn't cook, I just didn't know their inability was this severe.

"We were trying to make some mousse crap for dessert tonight, but…" He trailed off, looking over at the sink. I followed his stare and saw a smoldering, stainless steel bowl and some kind of concoction glued to the sides of it.

"Why is that smoking? You don't even bake chocolate mousse. How can you screw it up, it's one of the easiest desserts to make." I stared at the bowl like it held four scorpions that were asleep. I didn't want to wake the what looked like a chemistry experiment gone wrong for fear it would attack.

"Yeah, well maybe for you, bakers anonymous." Darrel jokingly said. I think we added a bit too much vinegar and baking soda." He pondered.

_**The Strokes: Reptillia **_

"First, baking soda and vinegar cause a chemical reaction. Do you not remember when Claire and I worked on her volcano for the Science fair, here?" I asked, knowing that he would recall that day. "And second, the recipe doesn't even call for vinegar." I said fighting the laughter that was bubbling forth quite like the… whatever it was.

"Well, today it was." Darrel shot back. His green eyes were gleaming with happiness and his tan skin held marks from days of joy.

"Josh called earlier sweetie, he said to call him back. He sounded pretty upset. " commented worriedly. She loved all of my friends and had taken them all under her maternal wing when I had introduced them to each other.

"Okay, thanks. Darrel, do you think you can handle dinner?" I asked, my eyebrows raised and a smirk growing on my face.

He scoffed. "Dinner is no match for the mighty Darrel." He said raising the spatula above his head like he was already victorious.

"More like Darrel's no match for the mighty dinner." Janet mumbled under her breath. I let out the loud, hearty laugh that I had been holding back and Darrel glared at her. She looked around, getting a sweet innocent look on her face that all girls seemed to have mastered over time.

Running up the stairs to my room, I shoved the door open and flopped onto the bed. I relaxed my back and slowly felt my muscles straightening out and I let out a deep sigh. Then I remembered what I had to do.

"Josh, man, what's up?" I asked after he picked the phone and said "hello."

"Oh my God, man, I really screwed up. I need your help. Badly." He said in a near hysterical voice.

"Start from the beginning. Josh."

**And… scene. **

**If anyone can get the hint of foreshadowing in this chapter, I'll give you an outtake of the Science project of Claire's. Read and Review guys, please!**


	20. The Goodship Coffee Shop

_**Heeeelllllooo, wonderful readers of Forever Starts Tonight. And if there are none, then I'm talking to myself. Oh well. I want to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter even though there were many mistakes. Probably. Anyways, my beta, the wonderful and awe-inspiring, Kelsey Goode is still incognito, so this chapter was supposed to be checked out by Bailz, but I got impatient. **_

_**Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Lisi Harrison. Not a fourteen-year old girl with entirely too much time on her hands. **_

_**Paramore: I Caught Myself**_

"Oh God man, I really screwed it up. I need your help." I hysterically said to Derrick when he called me back. Did I really just do that? Four hours, thirty-two minutes, and seventeen… eighteen… nineteen seconds ago, did I really just fuck up the greatest relationship of my life?

"Start from the beginning, Josh." Derrick's soothing and rational voice calmed me slightly and I allowed myself to go back to where it all happened.

_/*/*/*/*_

"_I'm sorry Mass, but I already promised her that I would help her with school stuff." I told Massie as she gave me her patented death glare. _

"_Josh, we have to work on the invites! Do you really want me to work on typing out forty invites all by myself?" Massie asked as if I was telling her to swim the English Channel and back in twenty minutes. _

"_Oh, come on Massie, you know I want to help you with the party invites, but I had these plans before the party was even a twinkle in your conspiratorial, amber eyes. I'll be at Rose's Café if you need me. But Massie, you really have to need help. You shouldn't worry about that, though. Nothing is to difficult for my girl." I said, faintly grasping her chin between the side of my forefinger and thumb. "Love you babe." I pecked her on the lips. Almost immediately, her lips tumbled onto mine and her hands grabbed my shoulders roughly. I let out a soft moan as her tongue slid out and swept across my lips. I granted her entrance into my hot-n-ready mouth before realizing what she was doing. _

_The smart little vixen. _

_She was waving sex over my head like a piece of red velvet cake sitting in front of an over-weight man running on a treadmill. _

_**Vanessa Carlton: A Thousand Miles**_

_I was about to forget everything, when I remembered where I unfortunately had to be in a half an hour. _

"_I'm sorry Massie. You **know** I would rather stay here, but I already promised Latika that I would help her." I tried to coax her out of the rage I knew I would have to handle when I saw her next. _

"_Fine, but if that bitch so much as rubs your "big, muscular biceps," I'm going to rip her fake hair out. Strand by fucking strand." _

"_I'll call you when I'm done to see if there's anything left to do." I gave her a slight peck on the lips and pulled away before her mint-scented mouth could entice me further. "Love you." I said on my way out the door. I heard a slight, "you better," as I rounded the corner, slid down the slick, polished banister and walked out to the car. _

_The café on Birch and Maine was a nice, quiet place to hang out when you needed to go somewhere to relax. There was always soft Enya music drifting from the tan Bose speakers in the four corners of the café. The shop itself was a nice store that emanated feelings of old Bohemians. It was earthy and all of the food sold there was organic. Rose's Café had crème painted walls with huge bamboo plants in the of every wall. There were laptops at each of the tables and a circle of five beige couches. The place was named and dedicated to the owner's fiancée. Lucky girl. _

_**Anna Nalick: Breathe**_

"_Josh! There you are." Latika squealed from across the quiet room. College students on their white MacBooks covered their ears and glared in her direction while Latika rolled her brown eyes. _

"_Hi Latika, how are you?" I asked a bit begrudgingly as I sat down in the spot she has chosen. She looked me straight in the eyes as she picked up her coffee and took a slow drink of the steaming drink, her lips forming around the opening. She was trying to look sexy, but to me, she just looked like a big slut. Of course, I didnt' say that to her face. It had taken me a while to become the relatively nice and responsible guy that I was now. Even though I disliked Latika intensely, I was going to attempt to act kind. _

"_I'm fine, Josh. Even better now that you're here." She purred and moved a bit closer to me on the loveseat after setting her drink down. I quickly moved farther away from her to try to dispel any thoughts that I was interested in her, or this was a date. This most certainly was not. I was more than happy with Massie. A lot of people didn't get what I saw in her. All of them saw what she showed on the surface: a superficial, catty, selfish, bitch. But what I saw? What I saw went so much deeper. I saw a girl who put up a major façade as to how she truly felt. She was confident, and yet she had self-esteem issues at the same time. Massie was a girl that strived for excellence and the best. She didn't settle for anything less. And really, what was wrong with that?_

"_How about we start now, Latika?" I asked as soon as I felt her chest brush past my arm. _

"_Sure Josh, what do you want to start with?" She questioned and pulled her shirt down a little bit to show more of her massive cleavage. Not that I was looking. On purpose. _

"_Um, how about irregular verbs?" I suggested, hoping that a little challenge would distract her. Her brow furrowed slightly and she bit her lip like she was confused. Apparently, Latika was not used to being ignored. _

_**Listening: My almost snores**_

_I reached down and into my black, Jansport backpack for my Spanish 1 notes that I had dug out from the old eighth grade box my parents kept around. Irregular verbs should have been easy for Latika. But maybe they didn't teach that stuff in her native country. _

"_Let's start with "dormir." I referred to the verb, to sleep. "Do you know what it means?" _

"_Yo quiero dormir con tu." She whispered in my ear, using what was supposed to be her "sultry" voice. _

"_Look Latika, you're nice and all, but I just don' t like you like that. I have Massie and I'm more than happy with her." I told her in what I hoped was a more tactful way that what I wanted to say. _

_Instantly, her brown eyes welled up with tears and I regretted saying anything. I wanted to get my point across, but I didn't want to make her cry. _

"_But Josh, I thought this was a date." She said, her lower lip quivering. _

"_No, Latika, this was to help you with your Spanish." _

"_How stupid can you get? I'm from Buenos Aires!"_

"_I know, but-"_

"_You know what Josh, it doesn't matter." She cut me off and suddenly, she plopped down on my lap, her heavily glossed lips pressed against mine. I quickly tried to pull away, but she shoved her hands through my hair. _

"_Really, Josh?" Massie's strong voice demanded and questioned at the same time from behind me. _

**_Listening: The constant ringing in my ears. _**

"_No Mass, it's not what-"_

"_-it looks like? I so haven't heard that one at all. I should have known. Studying __**Spanish**__? This slut's from Buenos Aires, Argentina!" Massie almost screeched. "I came here to tell you that I finished the invites. Oh, and I ran into Ethan Bates on the way here. He said to give his best regards to Claire and Derrick, which was a little freaky, but this is what I get? Thanks Josh, I love you too." She quickly turned on her heel and stormed out of the restaurant. _

_/*/*/*/*_

"Well Josh, I really don't think I can help you." Derrick told me matter-o-factly as I retold the memory.

"I figured that, I just needed to tell someone."

"I'm sorry man, I have to go. I think Janet and Darrel are _trying_ to burn down the house today, but just think about it. You'll figure it out. You always do." Derrick's phone clicked off and I was left with only my thoughts, a place that I really needed to be.

**Ya'll know what to do!**

**Yo quiero dormir con tu: I want to sleep with you**


	21. The Truth Comes Out

**Okay, so I'm sorry that it took me almost an entire month to update. Unbelievably. But, I won't offer any excuses. So, I guess we can get on with it. **

**I wanted to thank Cela Fille, and Bailz for being amazing. Thanks, guys. **

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own the Clique. Not very creative, I know, but it's been a long day.**

**_Fall Out Boy: Grand Theft Autumn_**

"I have come to the conclusion," Dylan stated trying to grab everyones attention from the large stack of invites that sat before the group, staring at them and challenging them. "That all "party food" hates me and my job was the most difficult."

This revelation successfully claimed the attention of Claire and Derrick, who kept looking over their shoulders every ten seconds, Alicia and Kemp, who were just sitting there, awkwardly looking down at the table, and Cam and Kristen, the only ones acting normal. Although Dylan's declaration managed to break them out of their Monday and whatever-the-hell-else-was-bothering-them induced haze, it did nothing for the "alpha couple", Massie and Josh. No, these two were glaring at each other, completely unashamed and unaware of what they were doing and what was going around them.

"Would _someone_ like to explain what the hell is going on here?" Cam spoke intensely, not feeling like being out of the loop today.

**_Van Morrison: Brown-eyed Girl_**

"Yes Josh, would _you_ like to explain what is going on, or would you like _me_ to?" Massie demanded an answer as she spat out the harsh words.

"No Massie, I've realized that even before all of what happened yesterday, happened, you have never trusted, so you probably would not have enough faith in me to tell the story right." Josh countered and suddenly, it was like watching a tennis match.

"Well look where all of that trust has gotten me so far!"

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Claire commanded and Josh looked surprised that Derrick had not told Claire what went down between him, Massie, and Latika.

"Do you want me to say it, Josh?" Derrick asked, trying to help the situation out, but unknowingly making it worse.

**_Jesse McCartney: Leavin'_**

"You told Derrick?!" Massie screeched in surprise.

"Of course I told Derrick! I had to have someone to tell the truth to because you didn't want to hear it!"

"Don't give me that shit Josh. You didn't call me once! I was waiting by the goddamn phone all night-" Massie seemed to cut off because she felt that she had given to much about her emotional status away and it made her seem weak, but immediately, Claire's phone went off.

"_I never knew_

_I never knew that everything was falling through_

_That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue_

_To turn and run when all I needed was the truth."_

Claire let out a nervous sigh of frustration while Derrick threw his shaggy blond head back and groaned. You could almost hear the whisper of a dark chuckle envelop the anxious couple.

**_Paramore: All We Know_**

Claire quickly checked the screen, pursed her perfectly glossed lips, and glared at the phone. Derrick's face mimicked hers as he discretely read the text message and a look of fury passed along to Massie's. Wait, Massie?

"I'm fucking sick of you guys doing this. Every time you get a text Claire, you start sweating bullets and Derrick, you get a look of pure fucking rage on your face. Now tell us -all of us- what the hell is going on. Now."

"Massie-"

"No. The only goddamn thing I want to hear coming out of your mouths, should be an explanation."

"I have to go to the bathroom." Claire said evenly, standing up and looking into the eyes of a mad as hell alpha and a woman scorned as if she was telling her to try to challenge her. After a few moments, Claire walked away and pushed open the swinging double doors that led out to the halls.

"What about you, Derrick? Going to say anything, because you obviously know much more than we do." Massie looked him in the eye with a look of rage, and _jealousy _crossing her face. Jealous of what? Maybe that Claire had told her boyfriend more information than her best friend. That was a major "no, no" according to girl code.

"Mass, you don't-"

"I don 't get it? No I don't. But what I do get, is that something is going on with my best friend. And I don't know what it is. That's why I don't get it. So, tell me. Now."

Derrick was about to open his mouth and possibly make this into a _My Cousin, Vinny_ moment, but right then, the bright fluorescent lights cut out into complete and total blackness.

A series of groans, moans, and a few, "what the hells?" were tossed about in the darkness and as a few chairs of the faculty slid back, the rapid pace of bullets hitting and going through metal and possibly something else filled the halls, the classrooms, and the entire school.

The staff and the students immediately got so quiet that you could hear a mouse fart, and in just enough time to hear a cry of pure, unadulterated, undiluted pain emanate itself from one of the school's most popular student.

Derrick's tan face went stark white as he whispered into the blackness, "Claire,"

**So, I thought I should reward you with an evil, evil cliffy. Would you believe it if I told you I was cackling like the voice in the end of the "Thriller" video? It's true. If you review, you will get to hear the text that Ethan sent Claire and an extremely short sneak peak of the next chapter. If that doesn't incite you, I don't know what will. **

**Oh, and a quick announcement: at the end of the story, if we make it past hmm, two-hundred and seventy-five reviews, I will post a story of outtakes from Forever Starts Tonight. I'll take requests for each chapter, but only if we make it past two-hundred and fifty. I know you can do it. **

**Review! **


	22. The Indie Awards!

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for putting up a fakeout chapter, but for all of you who read my story, Are You Nervous, I just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews and love the story has gotten. Becuase of all of you, this story has been nominiated over at The Indie TwiFic Awards under best use of comedy. If you could go over and vote for it, that would be greatly appreciated! The website is, www(dot)theindietwificawards(dot)**

**Thanks so much!**


	23. Chapter 23

**How about we give a nice, long round of applause to the fantastic emergency beta, and the person that made sure I didn't give up on this chapter and start the oneshot I have in mind, Bailz! Darling, I love you, even with your funny last name. Anyway, when was the last time I updated? Oh well, I'm to lazy to check. One thing before I start the chapter. Go check out the Officially Unofficial Clique Fanfic Awards! A lot of great stories and writers have been nominated. Go vote and nominate! Oh, and this is the last thing, I swear. WE GOT OVER 200 REVIEWS! When my friend told me, I almost puked! Thank you so much anyone who has ever reviewed, and the readers! Now, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. No ownership to be found here. **

_**Marylin Manson: Tainted Love**_

The cafeteria had taken on a cavernous feel of dead silence before sheer hysteria.

"Oh my God, what and who was that!?" The black-haired Sierra Miller screeched before reaching a shaky hand up to push the edge of her thick, black glasses up the unnaturally straight bridge of her nose.

"Claire, Claire, Claire." Derrick whispered a broken and anguished mantra over and over again before the principal finally stepped up on a raised platform and began to speak.

"Was anyone out in the halls? If any of you know anything, now is the time to say something." He said with extreme seriousness after a flashlight had been turned on and given to him. His heavy stare seemed to rest on everyone in the cafeteria as his black walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"We have a young girl here, unconscious with a bullet wound through her right arm. The shooter is no where to be found. An ambulance has been called to pick her up." The voice stopped and everyone at the table turned to look at Derrick.

He looked at the principal with rapt attention as the sweating man on the platform asked, "Who is it?"

"Wait a minute…" he sounded like he was digging through a purse or a knapsack to find her student ID.

"Claire Lyons."

Derrick's breathing became heavier before shooting up from the chair and running out of the cafeteria like a speeding bullet. Okay, bad metaphor.

"Mr. Harrington!" The principal shouted a moment to late as the doors swung shut.

_**Muse: Newborn**_

You could tell that the rest of the elite group of friends, let alone, the entire student body and faculty wanted to rush out to see if their queen was okay. And it made sense. To the students, Claire was the nicer version of Massie. She was beautiful, smart and athletic. It was all the things Massie was, but rolled into a kinder looking package. To the faculty, she was a straight A student that was alwyas kind and courteous to everyone. She turned in her assignments on time and if she was struggling, she wan't afraid to ask for help. Needless to say, everyone loved Claire. The rest of the habitants of the cafeteria did not look to the large, sweating man for instructions, but rather they looked toward table eleven, the one where the most popular students sat. The best friends of the poor girl lying outside on the linoleum floors.

Meanwhile, outside the eating room, a handsome young man was kneeling next to his fiancée, breathing heavily and cradling her head while gently singing sweet melodies to her in hopes to rouse her from her current state of unconsciousness.

"Son, you need to let go." A paramedic softly tapped him on the shoulder and Derrick looked up slowly, seeming extremely lost. Maybe it was because of the fact that his reason for life was lying on the floor, a bruise on her temple and a hole through her arm. "Son, please. We have to assess her and move her to the hospital." He knelt down beside Derrick and took Claire's head from his arms.

"No!" Derrick whispered frantically as he was led away from her.

"It'll be okay. You can ride with us to the hospital. Kendrick just has to make her stable enough for the ride." A nice woman with a sewed on nametag of Angela told him sweetly as two other men rushed into the hallway, a stretcher in both of their hands. They quickly loaded Claire into the straps, securing her appendages and swiftly carried her out the nearby doors as Derrick trailed quickly behind them with Angela right beside him.

"Are you coming, boy?" A gruff looking EMT asked him in an equally gruff voice.

Derrick nodded mutely.

"Well then get in the truck." He commanded before Derrick climbed up the high ledge.

Numbly, Derrick walked over to the red-haired nurse with black glasses who he had kinda/sorta meet earlier. She looked consoling enough to sit next to. She was a young woman, maybe two years out of college with long, straight red hair that Dylan would be so envious of. Behind her sexy-librarian glasses, were two large brown eyes much like how people imagined Bella Swan's would be. Her lips encased a sympathetic smile that made Derrick chuckle. He couldn't even imagine smiling at a time like this.

_**Taylor Swift: You Belong With Me -it's shamefully addicting, okay!-**_

"Are you her boyfriend?" She asked as he returned his pained look back to Claire.

He nodded silently once again.

"I'm sorry for what happened today. But, she'll be fine. Do you want to hear the gruesome details, or the more tactful, edited version of what's going on?" She gently asked, looking him in the eyes with her soft brown ones.

"I'll take the gruesome details." Derrick said to the surprise of Angela. Why shouldn't he be in as much pain as Claire was now as she laid underneath the oxygen mask? He _was_ the reason she was here, wasn't he? If his facial feature when Claire had gotten the latest text hadn't have been so noticeable, Massie wouldn't have seen it, and then Claire would never had gone to the bathroom as a distraction. Then she would have never gotten -gulp- shot.

"Well, she has bruises around her temple in a rectangular shape, which most likely means that she was hit with the gun. She has a bullet hole in her arm which, the bullet is still in there, that surgery will have to get out, and last, but certainly not least, since she is unconscious right now, the doctor on call will probably want her to stay over night for observation when she wakes up."

As she finished her long list, the pang in Derrick's most vital organ began to thud harder, and harder, and harder. He faintly heard Melissa, tell him to slow his breathing down, but it was so difficult. Had she ever seen the person she loved most in the world lying unconscious with a hole through the arm? Had she? Did she know the emotions running through Derrick's head right this instant? Derrick didn't think so. But he did know someone who knew what it was like. Someone that used to be the closest thing in the world to him. Someone who was residing in Boca Raton Florida.

**So, she's not dead. But that chapter was pretty difficult to write, so, give me some love**


	24. FST NOTICE

Okay, so explanation on FST and why it hasn't been updated in a fucklong time. I'll make it into a little math problem for you.

**High School**+**boyfriend**+**new little sister**+**part-time job**+**student counsel prez**+**DECA club member**

**-equals-**

**Absolutely no free time. I'm not even kidding. **

So, Forever Starts Tonight is on in indefinite haitus. I apologize, but until I can get my life and schedule in order, that's the way it'll have to be.

But I still appreciate reviews. And PMs.


	25. Preview of chapter 25

**hemhem. hi there. i'm sorry for being gone for so long, but circumstances are circumstances. i'm trying to ease back into updating with little, random oneshots (see baby, it's cold outside) but don't expect an update every two weeks. maybe once a month. **

**for those of you who really want to know what's going on, here is a preview of the next chapter for you, because I don't have the energy -or brain power- to do a full chapter. **

**this is going out to all of the fst fans that patiently (and unpatiently) waited for my return. and baileybear. just because you all are so amazing, darlings. **

* * *

**_Listening to: My brother and his eleven year old friends_**

"Paging Dr. Hotz, paging Dr. Hotz. You are needed in room 223." A clear voice rang through the hospital halls as Derrick sat outside the operating room with his head in his hands.

"Derrick, is that you?" A fimilar voice asked from above the bereaved boy.

"Dr. Hotz?" Derrick's voice, caked with sadness questioned as he attempted to wipe his eyes surreptitously.

"What's wrong Derrick? What's going on?" Josh's father sat down next to Derrick with a soft expression on his face.

"Claire- Claire's been shot. They have her in surgery right now, but-"

"Do you know who the surgeon is?" He asked gently, pushing up his silver rimmed glasses.

"Dr. Randallas."

"He's a great surgeon Derrick, don't worry. Everything will be fine," Dr. Hotz said, standing up with a slight groan from his knees.

"But Dr. Hotz, it's my fault. What if something goes wrong?"

"Would it make you feel better if I put in a request to be her doctor?"

"Slightly, yes."

Dr. Hotz chuckled. "Then that's what I'll do. She shouldn't be too long. She just had a gunshot wound to her arm, right?"

"And she was knocked unconcious. The paramedic said that you'll probably want to keep her overnight for observation."

"The medic was right. It's what we do for most head injuries."

Derrick nodded and Josh's father patted his back. "I'll see you soon, Derrick."

"Thanks, Dr. Hotz."

* * *

**so, how was that for a little peek into the lives of my voodoo dolls? review, even if it's just a preview. thanks. **


	26. Not so Funny Pictures

**God, I hate exams. And times new roman font. And exams. Oh wait, I've already mentioned that. Anyways, here's the next chapter, commin' at ya! **

"Paging Dr. Hotz, paging Dr. Hotz. You are needed in room 223." A clear voice rang through the hospital halls as Derrick sat outside the operating room with his head in his hands.

"Derrick, is that you?" A familiar voice asked from above the bereaved boy.

"Dr. Hotz?" Derrick's voice, caked with sadness questioned as he attempted to wipe his eyes surreptitiously.

"What's wrong Derrick? What's going on?" Josh's father sat down next to Derrick with a soft expression on his face.

"Claire- Claire's been shot. They have her in surgery right now, but-"

"Do you know who the surgeon is?" He asked gently, pushing up his silver rimmed glasses.

"Dr. Randallas."

"He's a great surgeon Derrick, don't worry. Everything will be fine," Dr. Hotz said, standing up with a slight groan from his knees.

"But Dr. Hotz, it's my fault. What if something goes wrong?"

"Would it make you feel better if I put in a request to be her doctor?"

"Slightly, yes."

Dr. Hotz chuckled. "Then that's what I'll do. She shouldn't be too long. She just had a gunshot wound to her arm, right?"

"And she was knocked unconscious. The paramedic said that you'll probably want to keep her overnight for observation."

"The medic was right. It's what we do for most head injuries."

Derrick nodded and Josh's father patted his back. "I'll see you soon, Derrick."

"Thanks, Dr. Hotz."

Two Hours Later

"Who's here for Claire Lyons?" A man with light blue scrubs walked through the swinging double doors and asked.

Almost immediately, Derrick stood up, his lungs filling with air that he could not yet let go.

"I am. Her parents were notified, and are on their way. Is Claire going to be alright?" Derrick asked, all in one breath.

"And you are?" The person Derrick assumed was the surgeon asked.

"Her boyfriend," he said. The title seemed so temporary when said aloud. When you're a teenager, young love seems so pointless, considering the fact that people can change within the blink of an eye, or the flapping of a hummingbird's wings. Nothing was ever permanent as a teenager, so why should love be any different?

"The surgery was a success, with minimal blood loss. We found the bullet in her arm and removed it without any tearing or any of that bad stuff," The surgeon smiled.

"Can I see her?" Derrick asked, jumping at the chance to actually see how Claire was, instead of just hearing it.

"She's resting comfortably right now and I don't know if she's still asleep, but yes, I'm sure she'd love to see you."

Derrick nodded.

"She's in room 243, on the second floor. The elevator is just down this hall and around the corner."

"Thank you, doctor." Derrick said, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm just doing my job, son." Dr. Randallas smiled.

Derrick grabbed the sweat shirt that he had taken off in his hours long wait. He began to walk quickly down the long hallway, careful of the hospital staff rushing to save lives around him.

Just as Derrick was about to turn the corner, a wall of pictures caught his eye.

The photographs were lining the walls of the burn wing of the hospital. There were at least seven pictures hanging in small, gold frames. From what Derrick could tell, the frames housed pictures of burn victims, but as far as he could comprehend, they were all before and after shots of different people. Some were old, some rich. Then there were some young, and others poor. There was one picture that really caught his eye.

It was Claire, his Claire. But she looked to be about ten or eleven, and according to the gold plate that was underneath the before shot, she was standing next to an Ethan Barnes. The funny thing though, was that this _Ethan Barnes _looked a lot like Ethan Bates. A lot.

Funny, right. He didn't think so either.

**Read, review. Vote in the awards. FST is up for best concept. Cool, right? Can we make it cooler by winning? **


	27. Dream Big Dreams

**Here I am, the very next day. Still hating times new roman font, and exams. Ugh. Oh well, they're almost over. Thanks to the people that reviewed last chapter, and welcome to all of the new readers! We're getting closer to our goal of 275 reviews for the outtakes, and as soon as you guys hit that mark, trust me, you'll know about it. Also, a link is now posted on my profile to the awards. Go vote for your favorites, and drop by Haritha (Cela Fille), Maddie (welcome to maddieland), and Sophie (maplexsyrup), and tell them how cool the awards are, and how great of a job they did. I think you should do that. And vote for Forever Starts Tonight under best concept. **

**A shout out to my Bailey for giving me one of the best reviews I have ever gotten. Love ya girl. P.S. I shot you an email. Via FFN because my email is being a fascist dinosaur and won't send emails. **

**On with the story now, don't you think we should get. **

**DPOV**

As soon as I saw that picture and really comprehended what was in front of me, my mind took off in every direction, lots of ideas tumbling through my head.

Claire and Ethan used to know each other? How did they know each other? How did Ethan's face become so badly scarred? Why didn't Claire tell me, I mean this seems like a great piece of information to know. Were Claire and Ethan ever more than friends? Was he just some vengeful ex that couldn't get it through his thick head that he and Claire were over?

My head began to hurt from all of the questions being asked to me by myself, so I figured that the only way to find out the truth was if I went straight to the person in the picture. As a reference to what I was talking about, I snapped a picture of the big question mark hanging in the gold frame, with my cell phone camera.

I needed to let off some steam before seeing Claire, so I climbed the two flights of stairs that led up to her floor.

The door was closed when I arrived outside her door, so I knocked lightly, thinking that a nurse was in there, or Claire was sleeping.

A hoarse "come in" emanated from inside the room, so I pushed the cherry wood door open to see Claire, lying in the bed in one of those blue checkered hospital gowns. I knew Massie would throw up her "low-cal" lunch if she ever saw Claire wearing.

"Hey sweetie, how are you doing?" I asked, dropping a kiss on her forehead and planting myself in the uncomfortable chair next to the IV machine to the right of her bed.

"I'm as okay as I can be after being shot and knocked unconscious." She stated, closing her eyes. Her hand found mine that was already laying on the bed and squeezed it. I shivered at how cold it had become.

"Claire, baby, I have a few questions to ask you." I said, my grip around her hand tightening ever so slightly.

She nodded her blond head ever so slightly, signifying how tired she was. I figured that I didn't want to stress her out by interrogating her, so I would only ask her one question, one time.

"Claire, did you know Ethan at all before he showed up here in Westchester?"

"I had an old childhood friend named Ethan Barnes, but that was in St. Augustine." She whispered, her head lolling to the side.

"You lived in Orlando, Claire."

"That's what I said." She opened her eyes and looked at me as if I was crazy.

"Okay Clairebear, go to sleep. You need it."

"Will you speak to me in French?" She whispered, her breaths slowing down ever so slightly.

I smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah, I will."

_Thank you_, she mouthed to me.

"Mon chéri, mon amour, je vous souhaite bien dormir et rêver de grands rêves, mais j espère que vous rêvez de moi. »

**So a little fluffy chapter to tide you over until when I update next. Which will hopefully be tomorrow. **

**Oh, I almost forgot the translation. **

**Mon chéri, mon amour, je vous souhaite bien dormir et rêver de grands rêves, mais j espère que vous rêvez de moi: My darling, my love, I hope you sleep well and dream big dreams, but I hope you dream of me. **


	28. Bloody Song Changes

**Ugh. I'm sick. And after watching three hours of WifeSwap, I think that I should update. It's another relatively short chapter, but as long as I update, right? **

**Shout out to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and the people that review every chapter. Special shout out to my Bailey bear for being so coolio. Sorry, Dayquil and Nyquil affect my brain in strange ways. **

**DPOV**

"Derrick," a soft voice roused me from my fitful nap in the chair next to Claire's bed. My head slowly lifted up as though five gallons of water were weighing upon it.

"Mrs. Lyons," I said, looking at the doorway. Judi stood at the door, a hospital-made grilled cheese sandwich in one hand, and a bottle of Pepsi in the other. She was in a wrinkled, knee-length black skirt with a white button-down blouse tucked in, and a black blazer over it. She had on black, patent leather high heels with tan nylons underneath.

Crap. She had been at the court house.

I uncurled my long legs from the navy blue chair I had been sleeping in.

"Derrick, how many years have you and Claire been dating?" She asked, slowly walking over to sit in the other chair Dr. Hotz must have put in the room.

"Almost four,"

"And how many times in those four years have I told you to call me Judi?" She asked rhetorically and smiled slightly.

"A lot. I guess I should start calling you by your first name."

"Especially since you're going to be my son-in-law in the future."

"Wait, how do you-"

"Know?"

I nodded.

"Derrick, when I see someone as completely in love with someone else, quite as you are, I know that that person will hold on as tight as possible to what he or she has. I know that you're not going to let Claire go."

"Only if she lets me go first." I whispered, hoping that Mrs. Ly- Judi hadn't heard what I said.

"Trust me when I tell you that she won't be letting go. Not now, not ever."

"This took you from the courtroom, didn't it?" I asked, speaking of what happened today.

She nodded. "It did, but nothing is more important than my family. The trial will pick back up tomorrow. Besides, the prosecuting attorney needs time to actually get together some evidence that's not circumstantial." Judi rolled her eyes.

"When did you get here?"

"An hour ago, maybe. Jay and Todd are down in the cafeteria."

"What time is it?" I asked, fighting back a yawn. When we arrived at the hospital, it had been around twelve thirty, and and Claire came out of surgery at two forty-five. I came up to her room at three, and we had been asleep ever since.

"Almost six.

"What?! Almost six? Janet and Darrell must be worried sick! I have to call them." I shot up from the chair, my knees almost buckling due to the immediate pressure.

"Relax Derrick, Jay called and told them what was going on. They said that they would swing by the hospital and drop you off some clean clothes to wear tomorrow, since you obviously won't be coming home until Claire does."

I nodded in agreement and appreciation. "Thank you so much for doing this, Judi. Do you know if anyone else has been by?" I asked as I sat back down. I was curious to see whether Massie or Cam, or anyone else from our group had been by to say hello while I had been dozing.

"The nurse told me that Massie and Dylan came by. Kristen wanted to come, but she had debate practice. Then Kemp, Josh and Cam dropped in. Chris had lacrosse practice, but he said to say hello to her and you when the both of you woke up. Oh, and some boy named Ethan Bates? I guess he's just some kid from school that wanted to offer his condolences."

I couldn't hear what Judi said last, because at that moment, Claire's phone that was laying on the bedside table lit up with a new text message.

_Dusk dropped her starry gown_

_I whispered out_

"_Sweetie, are you here with me?"_

_The mirror crashed on the dresser_

_and she began to scream_

"_Bloody murderer! Let me rest in peace!_

_When I was yours, you fled the scene. _

_Now you can wash your hands of me." _

Judi stared at the phone for a second before turning away. "I keep on having to remind myself that I had odd taste in music too, growing up."

I chuckled for a second and then realized that Claire hated that song. What happened to the Fray? Who in the world would come into her hospital room, change her message tone, and then leave?

**One of the longer chapters out of the three that I have posted. I do not own the song, nor the Clique. The Clique belongs to Lisi Harrison, and the song is Cursive's Bloody Murderer. It's pretty creepy, you should check it out. Ya know, after you're done reviewing and voting for me in the awards. **_** -hinthintwinkwink-**_


	29. Possible BreakIns

**Hello world and the wonderful people that inhabit it. Okay, so I was out to breakfast with my family and when I got home, I booted up my iPod because I thought I had to finish this chapter. But as soon as Hella Good, by No Doubt (yeah, I know you remember that song) started playing, I remembered that I already finished the chapter! Yippie! Sorry, I think the waitress put something in my coffee. It was decaf, I swear. **

**Shout out: Baileybear, I love you darling. Enough said. Told you I needed a new thesaurus. And thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. You don't know how much it means to me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Clique. Clearly. **

**MPOV:**

As I drove home from the hospital in my BMW 528i, I thought of everything that was going on in my life at the moment.

Claire and Derrick were falling apart. Not their relationship, but them themselves. They freaked out so bad when Claire got a text that I thought they would have a coronary. I tried to get them to tell me what was going on and as soon as I thought Derrick was going to spill the beans, Claire had to go and get herself shot!.

Then there was Kemp and Alicia. Alicia was getting more and more desperate for a hook-up, and at this point in time, it seemed as it she didn't even care if it was Kemp that gave it to her. Don't even get me started on Kemp. He seemed bored of everything, and not just high school. I mean, he couldn't be too bored; he had a girlfriend that had a perky, double d chest and an ass to match. Not to mention the gaggle of freshman girls that worshiped upon him in the halls. And Olivia Ryan. Still not to bright, that girl was.

Kemp always reminded me of the Chuck Bass to Alicia's Blair Waldorf. Not that Alicia could ever be a Blair Waldorf, but you get the picture.

And then, of course, me. Well, me and Josh. I walked in on him kissing that slut, Latika over at the coffee house and he has the nerve to yell at _me _during lunch? God, the nerve of people these days.

But maybe I do need to hear him out. It did look as if he wasn't really kissing her back. I'll call him when I get home.

How could I forget the party? Yes, the girls, the guys, and I had a little less than a week to plan the biggest and best masquerade ball the Westchester community had ever seen. It wasn't going to be easy, that was for sure. Despite the fact that our best friends were at the hospital, I still made everyone stay after to put invitations in the slots of lockers.

In the course of a day, we had come up with over one hundred and fifty people to come to the ball. If all went as planned, this would be loads of fun.

Kristen and Cam's job was over with, Alicia was working hard, Derrick and Claire obviously had other things on their minds, and Dylan and Chris were diligently working on the food. We needed to put all of the choices together so we could get it to a caterer. And we needed to head shopping soon.

As I pulled into our newly paved, circular driveway, I noticed that all of the lights were turned off in the house and in the Lyon's house. Fabulous. No Inez, or Isaac. Both of my parents were clearly out doing something, and the entire Lyons family was clearly at the hospital.

But if Claire's and Derrick's cars were both still at the school, Judi took her car from court, and Jay took his from the ad agency, than who the fuck is that sitting in the driveway at their house?

**I thought about stopping it here, but that's too cruel, don't you think?**

Constantly looking over my shoulder nervously, I pulled into the four-car garage and quickly shut the door.

"Josh?" I asked, pulling all of the blinds down as I got into the house.

"What Massie?" He growled. It sounded as if I had taken him from something important.

"Josh, I know you're mad at me, and we'll talk about that later, but right now, I'm really scared that someone is trying to break into the Lyon's house."

"Why do you think someone is breaking into their house?" Josh's tone was slightly different when I gave him this piece of information.

"Because someone's car is in their driveway and I know it's no one I know; I don't recognize the car either.

He sighed. "Alright, lock all of your doors and windows. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'll call you when I'm at your front door. Don't let anyone into the house, Massie." For some reason, I felt safer already.

I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me.

"If I'm not there in ten minutes, call the police.

"Okay," I whimpered, half out of fear, the other half out of displaying so much insecurity to another human being.

"Stay in your house, Massie." Josh said. I could hear a car door slam shut and an engine began to roar. Then the phone cut off.

This Monday was proving to be much more exciting than I ever thought was possible.

**Has anyone seen The Hangover? I need someone to talk about it too, so review or PM me if you have. Or review and PM me if you want to. **


	30. Resolved Issues

**I've had this chapter written up for quite a while. It's just a matter of actually typing it up. **

**I put up a new oneshot. It has some foreshadowing as to what will take place in future chapters of FST. If you can find it, that's fantastic. You'll be my hero of the day. And I'll send you a really awesome PM. Promise. **

**The story is called And I Understand Why you Pick him Over Me**

**For Bailey. Because she's the sundried tomato to my basil wheat thin. **

**JPOV**

When I first got the call from Massie, I was irratated at her for calling me. Then, I realized my frustration was completely unfounded. If Massie was calling me, maybe it was to apologize for her rashness. Maybe she actually wanted to hear my side of the story, instead of what Latika told her in Gov class.

When I picked up the phone and she launched into her real reason for calling, I was immediately worried. First off, the entire Lyons family was at the hospital. I know, because I passed Jay and Todd in the parking lot. Second, because on Monday's and Saturday nights, Inez and Isaac have the nights off. Finally, because Massie sounded _vulnerable_.

For Massie to sound anything other than strong, confident, and in control, she either had to be dying, or scared out of her wits. In this case, I figured it was the latter.

There was only one problem.

When I got to the Block/Lyon estates, there was no car in the Lyon's driveway, and no creep lurking around the property.

Massie instantly let me into her house, and she immediately wrapped her bangle-covered arms around me in a bone-gripping hug.

"Mass, there was nothing there. No car was in the driveway, and no one around the house." I said, still fighting the urge to hug her back. Just because I was worried about her doesn't mean that I wasn't still upset.

"Josh, I swear to you, I say a car in the driveway." She looked at me, her amber eyes filled with tears.

I sighed. "Massie, it's been a long and stressful day for us. How about you go to bed, and I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"Joshua Jesus Hotz, don't patronize me. I know there was someone there. Who it was, I have no clue, but I know it was someone." Massie spoke feverently, her words wrapping around me mind and squeezing tight.

"Alright Massie, I believe you. But we can't do anything now. I mean, it's not as if we can call the police and say, "" Um, hi, we saw a person in our neighbor's driveway, but he's not there anymore.""

Massie nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Now will you listen to me about what happened at that cafe?"

"Yeah," She mumbled, walking into her living room, and hitting a button to turn on the fire place.

"Basically, what happened was we went over some elementart Spanish stuff, and then in Spanish, she told me that she wanted to sleep with me. I told her that I loved you, and she was out of line. Then , she launched herself at me. That was when you came in and saw us."

"That's all that happened?" Massie asked, finally realizing that she was at fault.

"Yes Massie, I swear to you. I love you, and you're the only person I love. But there's another problem,"

"Well, what's that?"

"You need to start trusting me more. I don't want to have a girlfriend that's constantly breathing down my necy, just because I smiled at a waitress at Olive Garden or something like that. I mean, don't get me wrong, jealousy is extremely hot and sexy, but it's like sugar: great in moderation."

Massie nodded and then pursed her lips. "I'll try Josh, I really will. It's just dificult when you have a hot boyfriend that's as sweet as you are, and every girl would like to have you. I'm sorry I over-reacted."

She walked me to the front door, and we kissed for a few seconds.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow, Mass. Love you,"

"Love you too, thanks for coming out here."

I smiled a lazy smile. "It was nothing."

I turned around as she shut the door. My fingers reached up to my lips, and my mind was wondering why the hell that kiss seemed so foreign.

It was cold and stiff, and seemed much more like a break up kiss than a welcome back one.

Why couldn't _everything _go back to normal?

**Review, peeps. Next chapter is in the works. **


	31. The Thing We See in AP Econ

**Alert. Alert. Alert. Intruder alert. Someone has come in and stolen Abby's body. She is updating. Alert. Alert. Alert. Intruder alert. ****For Bailey. And the reviewers. Y'all are awesome. **

**Disclaimer: Abby, not Lisi. Don't worry, it's an easy mistake. **

**EPOV**

I know it seemed like I was the one that pulled the trigger on our beloved Claire, but I didn't.

And I didn't know who did.

No, my revenge would be later. Not too far in the future, but in the future.

I didn't want to do the things I had planned, but I knew it was necessary.

To avenge my sister's death, this needed to be done.

**CPOV**

When I woke up, I had no clue where I was. Two heavy arms were around me, and all I could see were the faint outlines of small furniture. My breathing became labored and as I tried to sit up, I felt a sharp object in my hand. There was a quick beeping noise from a machine next to me, and the room began to spin.

"Claire, it's okay." Derrick's voice cried from next to me.

"Derrick, where am I? What happened? Why the fuck am I so cold? Where the hell are the blankets?" I asked, the machine next to me speeding up even further.

"Do you promise me you'll calm down?" Derrick questioned.

"Fine,"

"You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"Vaguely... I was shot in school?" I asked. I could see what happened in my head, though it seemed as if I was watching a movie. It was like I was looking in on something that happened to someone else.

"Do you remember who shot you?" Derrick asked hopefully.

"Hon, I have no idea. Whoever it was, had boobs, I know that."

"Obviously not Ethan, then."

I chuckled. "Obviously."

"So Claire, I'm going to ask you something that I asked you yesterday, and never got a clear answer on."

"Okay," I looked at him, a questioning look on my face.

"Did you know Ethan before you moved to Westchester?" By the look on Derrick's face, I could tell he needed this information.

I though hard. I had extremely fuzzy memories of my playing with a boy named Ethan, and a girl named Jenna.

I looked around the room for something to relieve the static in my head, and my eyes landed on my hand.

It was a simple thing really, for any other person. For me though, as soon as I saw the burns on the front of my hand, I took a shuddering gasp.

Me and Ethan. Jenna and Ethan. Me and Jenna. Me, Jenna, and Ethan. All three of us playing in his house. We had found the matches and the nine year old in me wanted to prove how cool I was, but as soon as I lit the match, I dropped it due to the heat. The carpet quickly caught on fire, and Ethan dragged me to safety, but went back in to try and save Jenna.

Ethan made it out, severely burnt, but alive. Jenna died.

"Oh my God Derrick, I did know him. Oh my God, I killed her! I killed Jenna just like I killed Skye and her two children. Oh my God, I killed her!"

* * *

**[KPOV]**

I did not want to go to school on Tuesday.

Then I remembered that I had an AP Lit test that day, and I couldn't miss it.

We were two class periods before lunch, and I was sitting in my AP Econ class, trying to figure out how to explain the Invisible hand in my essay.

Sitting next to me, was Ethan Bates, the guy back from the asylum. As I stared at his profile, I was curious as to how he got the burns down the side of his face.

Without looking up from his essay -which he was currently flying through-, he asked, "Would you like to know something, Kristen?"

I had never heard Ethan talk before, let alone to me, so when he did, the breath that filled my lungs whooshed out. It wasn't a scratchy stalker-ish sound, but a lot baritone. Like chocolate for the ears.

"Um, if you're offering, I was wondering if you could help me out with this invisible hand stuff. I just don't get it."

Ethan smiled, revealing two rows of pearly whites. He nodded. "Of course," he laughed, "this is the only economics stuff I actually comprehend. You see, the invisible hand theory states that if each customer is allowed to chose freely what they want to buy and each producer is allowed to freely chose what to sell and how to produce it, the market will settle on a product distribution and prices that are beneficial to the individual members of a community, and hence to a community as a whole."

"Okay, that makes much more sense now. Thank you."

"It's no problem. Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked pleasantly, his brown eyes resting on mine.

Cam's eyes were nicer, but Ethan's ones were still pretty.

I looked at him. He was kind, and handsome, other than those ugly burns. Maybe...?

Ah, to hell with it. Massie left me and Cam in charge of invites, ergo I could invite whomever I wanted to.

"Ethan, Massie and the rest of the girls and I are throwing a masquerade ball. Would you like to come?"

"Well, sure. Thanks for inviting me." He smiled and it turned into a smirk.

There was a knock at the door. It was Derrick.

"Mr. Benson, I'm here to get Claire's lesson and homework."

"Ah, yes Derrick, please come in." Mr. Benson pulled a folder out, and tugged on some papers.

Derrick looked at me and smiled. He looked next to me, and at Ethan. His nostrils flared, and his eyes lit up.

Ethan smirked, and winked.

What the hell was going on here?

**Longer update than last time. Maybe an intruder really has struck. Read. Review. And for anyone that's interested, there's foreshadowing for FST in the new shuffle challenge that I did. It's not that difficult to find. **


	32. Easy Gowns

**Um, hi. I think I'm going to want to duck underneath the table for this announcement, but Bailey -love you, B!- assured me that people would still like me. And read my new story. That's right, my new story. I am starting a new story, and taking a break from FST. Don't get me wrong, I still love this story, and I am not abandoning it. I promise. I'm just taking a break. You see, I'm stuck on the next chapter, and the plot bunnies are just too damn persistent. But I think it'll be a good story. I hope at least. Anyway, this will be the last chapter of FST for a short while. Please don't kill me :)**

**APOV**

Skipping school today had been for the best. I had so much to catch up on with my assignment from Massie that I forgot about an English essay, and a TIME reporter coming to my house to interview my father.

Over the years, Len Rivera had become the most well-known anad highly paid lawyer in the United States. He has taken a case defending the president of a fortune-500 country against fraud charges that would make most defense lawyers tremble in their prada loafers.

My dad won the case.

Now he's making 5.9 million dollars a year, and he's the most wanted attorney in the continental US.

"Hi, is Mr. Rivera here?" Nancy Gibbs smiled at me.

"Yes, he is. He's in his office. It's up the stairs and the third door on the right."

"Thank you, Miss?"

"Alicia. I'm Len's daughter."

"Ah, okay. Well thank you, Alicia."

"No problem, Mrs. Gibbs."

She walked up to my father's office, and I started off to my room. I had work to do.

As I settled against the pillows with my laptop and notebook, I typed the first name from my list of designers into the search bar. Oscar De La Renta may have some gorgeous gowns, but they just weren't right for a masquerade ball.

I looked through all of the designers on my list, but none of them had what I was looking for. Sighing, I drummed my fingers on my Seven for all Mankind clad thich. I didn't know what I was going to do, and not just for the dresses.

Kemp and I had been dating exclusively for seven months. Sure, we didn't have the most perfect of all relationships in the world, and we most definitely weren't going to end up married like Claire and Derrick, but we were happy. Or at least, I thought we were.

Maybe two weeks ago, I came into Kemp's bedroom from a trip to the bathroom. He was sitting on his bed with his Netbook in his lap, IMing someone. As soon as I hopped onto his bed to tru to sunggle with him, he immediately closed out of the conversation. I asked him who he was talking to, but he stammered out, "No one", and looked flustered and guilty for the rest of the night. It was then that I started to suspect that he was cheating on me.

It really hurt, you know what I mean? It was painful to think that he didn't love me like I loved him. I wanted to tell someone about it, but they all had other things going on. Everyone was getting ready for the party, Massie was having her own relationship problems, and Claire was almost murdered. With these things happening, they would probably laugh in my face if I told them about my suspicions.

Trying to keep my mind from exploring the possibilities of mine and Kemp's relationships and the relationships I had with my friends, my eyes wandered around my room.

The walls were a warm red and orange. I still had my huge pile of blankets and pillows in the corner of my room, but there was not a desk before it. I had some posters on my walls, and a large, silk memoboard with various pictures on it.

The first day of high school, my first car, my quincenera.

Ah, I loved that day. In the picture, all of my friends are standing around me. My dress is the same shade of orange as my walls. Derrick is standing next to Claire, looking as in love as ever. His black suit and tie matched the pale yellow of Claire's dress. Massie is standing next to me, with Kristen and Dylan on either side of her. We all look so happy, and that dress had to be one of my favorites.

That was it! I could use the dresses on the website that I found my quincenera gown on. Thank God that was done. If only everything could be that easy.

* * *

**Okay guys, that will be my last chapter for a while. But pay attention for my new story to come out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to call it A Different Song. Thanks, and don't forget to review. **


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